SCOTLAND

Electronics Industry

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, recent discussions he has had with ministers in the Scottish Executive concerning the future of the Scottish electronics industry.

Alistair Darling: I have regular contact with Scottish Executive Ministers to discuss a wide range of issues affecting the Scottish economy.

Pension Rights

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Work and Pensions about assistance for workers in Scotland whose companies are in receivership and whose pension rights might be jeopardised.

Anne McGuire: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a variety of issues of relevance to Scotland.
	On 11 June, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced government proposals to introduce a range of measures on occupational pensions. In insolvency cases, the Pension Protection Fund will guarantee pension scheme members a specified minimum level of pension. The Government will also introduce a full buy-out provision for solvent companies who decide to wind up their schemes.

Pension Credit

Malcolm Savidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will make a statement on the uptake of pension credit in Scotland.

Rosemary McKenna: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the take-up of pension credit in Scotland.

Anne McGuire: My right hon. Friend launched the Pension Credit in Scotland on 3 October. Around 201,000 pension credit awards have been made to pensioner households in Scotland, benefiting approximately 235,000 individuals.
	We are making every endeavour to ensure that all those eligible for Pension Credit take up their entitlement.

Pension Credit

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he is taking to promote pension credit uptake in Scotland.

Anne McGuire: My right hon. Friend launched the pension credit in Scotland on 3 October 2003.
	The Pension Service will have written to every pensioner household by June 2004 to tell them about pension credit and help them decide whether to apply. To support this process, the Government are running a major TV and press advertising campaign.

Air Traffic Control

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on proposed changes to the air traffic control infrastructure in Scotland.

Alistair Darling: I was pleased to be at Prestwick to welcome the recent announcement by National Air Traffic Services that they are to re-start works on the new Prestwick centre in the near future. Their two-centre strategy, based on Swanwick and Prestwick, will ensure that the UK continues to have one of the most modern, efficient and safe air traffic systems in the world.

Motoring Taxation

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he proposes to meet (a) the Treasury and (b) the Scottish Executive to discuss motoring taxation as it affects Scotland.

Anne McGuire: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with both the Treasury and the Scottish Executive about a variety of issues affecting Scotland.

Carlisle Airport

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with public sector bodies in Dumfries and Galloway about Carlisle airport and a possible financial contribution by them towards the airport's costs.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office has not taken part in any such discussions. Responsibility for economic development in Dumfries and Galloway rests with Scottish Ministers.
	I understand that Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway are involved with the North West Development Agency in looking at the issues surrounding the financing of airport and route development at Carlisle.

Asylum Seekers (Dungavel)

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Home Office about the continued use of Dungavel for the detention of asylum seekers' children.

Anne McGuire: I have regular discussions with Home Office Ministers on asylum issues, including the operation of Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre. I most recently visited Dungavel on 20 October 2003 and was impressed by the high quality of the facilities for the children there and the conscientious and caring attitude of the staff.

Post Offices (Banking Services)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has held with (a) the Royal Bank of Scotland, (b) Halifax Bank of Scotland and (c) Clydesdale Bank concerning the provision of banking services in the Post Office; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: No recent discussions have taken place between Scottish banks and the Scotland Office on this subject. Scotland Office Ministers have taken a specific interest in the provision of banking services in Scotland and have also had discussions with Post Office Ltd. in relation to this.
	Discussions are on-going between the Post Office and the banks to improve the level of services currently offered.

Water Industry

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met members of the Scottish Executive to discuss employment in the water industry in Scotland.

Anne McGuire: Scotland Office Ministers have discussions from time to time with members of the Scottish Executive across a wide range of issues affecting Scotland. Management of the water industry is a devolved matter.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Aviation

David Taylor: To ask the Leader of the House what plans he has to bring forward proposals for pre-legislative scrutiny of a draft bill on aviation.

Phil Woolas: My hon. Friend will be aware that I cannot reveal the Government's future legislative plans or pre-empt the contents of the Queen's Speech.

Information Technology

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Leader of the House what proposals he will put before the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons on the use of information technology in Standing Committees.

Phil Woolas: My right hon. Friend is conscious of the benefits which information technology can bring to Members serving on Standing Committees, as in other aspects of our work, but has no immediate plans to put proposals to the Modernisation Committee on this subject.

Pre-legislative Scrutiny

Vera Baird: To ask the Leader of the House what criteria he proposes for selecting draft legislation to be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny.

Phil Woolas: My right hon. Friend's wish is that bills should be published in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny whenever time and the preparedness of the bill permits, as long as this is consistent with the overall interests of the legislative programme.

Conservative Party Funding

Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House how much he estimates will be paid to the Conservative Party out of public funds in the year 2003–04.

Peter Hain: Short Money is allocated under three headings: general funding, travel expenses and the costs of the office of the Leader of the Opposition. The amounts available in the first two categories are determined by a formula based on the number of votes cast and the number of seats won in the last general election. The amounts available in 2003–04 for general funding and the office of the Leader of the Opposition are £2,935,041 and £548,102 respectively. Full travel expenses have yet to be claimed.
	Cranborne Money is the House of Lords equivalent of Short Money. It must be used by the Official Opposition exclusively in relation to their parliamentary business. The amount available to the Official Opposition in the House of Lords for the 2003–04 financial year is £402,662.
	In addition, section 12 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 established a policy development grant, which is a grant to a represented registered political party which meets the qualifying conditions to assist the party with the development of policies for inclusion in any manifesto. The total fund for 2003–04 is £2 million, the amount stipulated in the legislation, of which the Conservative Party will be paid £438,603 1 . The fund is administered by the Electoral Commission.
	1 Source:
	Electoral Commission.

Official Transport

Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House if he will list the transport arrangements for which payment is made out of public funds to (a) the Prime Minister, (b) the Leader of the Conservative Party and (c) the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in their respective capacities; and what payments were made in each case in 2002–03.

Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	The travel arrangements for Ministers are set out in Travel by Ministers, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The Leader of the Official Opposition is provided with a car for official duties associated with that office. The leader of the Liberal Democrats is not provided with an official car. For details of costs, I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided to the hon. Member for North Tayside (Pete Wishart), on 3 March 2003, Official Report, column 783W.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Archbishop of Canterbury

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what proportion and how much of the total costs of the visit by the Archbishop of Canterbury to Rome in the first week of October were paid by the Church Commissioners; and of that sum, what proportion and how much relates to the cost for staff members, excluding the Archbishop, his wife and chaplain.

Stuart Bell: The total cost met by the Commissioners from within an annual budget set aside for the Archbishop for overseas travel was £2,100.
	Of this amount, £227 (11 per cent. of the total) related to the cost for staff members.
	Other members of the party and supporters were paid for by their respective offices or travelled at their own expense.

Church of England

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, how much the Church of England has contributed since 1 June 2002 towards the costs of (a) the Anglican Commission, (b) the Anglican Consultative Council and (c) the Anglican Consultative Centre in Rome.

Stuart Bell: The Anglican Communion (not Commission) comprises 38 self-governing Anglican churches, including the Church of England. Each church is responsible for its own costs.
	The member churches of the provinces of the Anglican Communion meet 85 per cent. of the Anglican Consultative Council's core budget income and the Church of England's contribution is provided by parishes via the Archbishops' Council. I understand from the Council that the current amount paid is £359,700 a year, which would amount to some £509,000 from 1 June 2002 to the present.
	The Anglican Centre in Rome is financed by fundraising and is not a responsibility of the Church Commissioners. However, the Archbishop made a contribution of £2,500 from his discretionary funds in 2002.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Criminal Justice Boards

Graham Allen: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the Lord Chancellor is taking to involve hon. Members in the work of local criminal justice boards.

Christopher Leslie: Local Criminal Justice Boards are newly formed partnership comprising key stakeholders including the Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, Probation and the Courts. As executive boards focused on improving the local criminal justice system, they need the ability to meet in private to discuss sensitive policy matters. However, it is possible for there to be more regular consultative discussions with hon. Members in particular, and for non-sensitive minutes of meetings to be published.

Legal Services (Consumer Choice)

Ross Cranston: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent progress the Lord Chancellor has made in increasing consumer choice in legal services.

David Lammy: The Government have commissioned an independent review of the regulation of legal services aimed at promoting competition and innovation and improving services for consumers and we are reviewing future demand for legal services and the suppliers needed particularly in the publicly funded sector. We have already decided to open up the probate market to new providers, which should enable consumers to benefit from better and more cost effective services.

Stipendiary Magistrates

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many stipendiary magistrates there are in England and Wales; and what the figure was in 1995.

Christopher Leslie: Stipendiary magistrates are now known as "District Judges (Magistrates' Courts)", and there are currently 108 in England and Wales, including the Senior and Deputy Senior District Judges. At the end of 1995, 92 full-time stipendiaries were in post.

House of Lords

Ian Lucas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if the Secretary of State will bring forward proposals for an indirectly elected second chamber for the UK Parliament.

Christopher Leslie: As I announced to the House on 18 September, the Government proposes to introduce legislation, when parliamentary time allows, to put the House of Lords on a stable basis for the medium term. We are consulting on the details of our proposals and recognise that there is more to be done on Lords Reform after the removal of the remaining hereditary peerages.

Financial Penalties

Edward Leigh: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress has been made in (a) improving the payment rate for financial penalties imposed by the courts and (b) implementing the recommendations made by the Committee of Public Accounts in its 68th Report, Session 2001–02, on the collection of fines and other financial penalties in the criminal justice systems.

Christopher Leslie: Sustained improvement in the fine payment rate is a key priority, and to deliver that my Department has established a wide-ranging programme of change to implement my 7-point action plan and to address the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee. Furthermore I have now set a revised target for 2003–04 which gives a clearer focus to those involved in enforcement.

Land Registry

Jim Knight: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress has been made with putting the Land Registry on-line.

David Lammy: Land Registry's key information services are already available online. The Department is also progressively enabling customers to make land registration transactions electronically, the culmination of which will be the introduction of a full electronic conveyancing system in England and Wales from 2006.

Legal Aid

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans the Lord Chancellor has to amend the workings of the legal aid system.

David Lammy: The Government has a clear responsibility to ensure that we achieve value for money from the legal aid system. It seeks to achieve this through active monitoring and a programme of work which includes a major review of the demand, supply and purchasing arrangements for legal services, which will report in December.

Community Legal Service

David Kidney: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment the Lord Chancellor has made of the effectiveness of community legal service partnerships in promoting increased access to legal advice and assistance.

David Lammy: Since the launch of the CLS in April 2000 more than 200 Community Legal Service Partnerships have been set up, covering more than 99 per cent. of the population of England and Wales. These partnerships have been effective in identifying priority areas of unmet need for legal and advice services in their locality. The extent to which these Partnerships have been effective in getting advice to the right people at the right time will be folly examined by the Independent Review of the CLS, which is due to report in April 2004.

Judges' Lodgings

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the judges' lodgings system.

Christopher Leslie: As I confirmed to the hon. Member in my written answer of 6 October 2003, it is our policy intention to introduce further efficiencies, particularly on rationalisation of Lodgings' ownership. I still hope to be in a position to make a more detailed statement later this year.

TRANSPORT

Imports

Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage by volume of the goods imported into the United Kingdom in the latest available financial year were transported by (a) sea, (b) rail and (c) air.

Kim Howells: In 2002 1 , the estimated shares of goods (tonnes lifted) imported into the United Kingdom were as follows:
	1 Information is not available on a financial year basis.
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 Sea 95 
			 Rail(1) 4 
			 Air Less than 1 per cent. 
		
	
	(1) Goods transported through the Channel Tunnel on through trains or on the freight shuttle.
	Source:
	DfT (sea), Eurotunnel (rail), Civil Aviation Authority (air)

Aviation Fuel

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking in (a) European and (b) international forums to promote a common approach to imposing tax on aviation fuel.

Tony McNulty: This matter was last raised internationally at the ICAO 33rd Assembly in 2001, when the overwhelming majority of States spoke out against the introduction of a tax on aviation fuel. Analysis by the European Commission has also suggested that an EU-wide tax would deliver minimal environmental benefit. However, the Government remain committed to finding alternative ways of applying the 'polluter pays' concept to civil aviation. Information is contained in the joint HM Treasury/Department for Transport discussion document "Aviation and the Environment: Using Economic Instruments", published in March 2003.

Bus Services

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conclusions he has reached following his review of fuel duty rebate for operators of bus services.

Tony McNulty: The Chancellor's Budget statement in April 2003 announced that the review of bus subsidies would be continuing in the context of the review of the 10-year transport plan. This is being taken forward in line with Spending Review 2004 and is expected to conclude next summer.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 16 June 2003, Official Report, column 26W, on transport policies, what measures he has taken to disseminate good practice in the bus sector to (a) individual authorities, (b) bus companies, (c) regulators and (d) professional and trade bodies, including trade unions, listing the (i) cost, (ii) means of dissemination and (iii) what assessment has been made in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Department takes many measures to disseminate good practice in the bus sector, both alone and in partnership with other stakeholders. It is not possible to allocate costs and benefits in the form set out in the question.
	For example, the Department has published:
	(a) good practice guidance on Quality Bus Partnerships, aimed at both local authorities and operators (2001); and
	(b) "Get on Board: an Agenda for Improving Personal Security in Bus Travel" (April 2002), including guidance and best practice case studies on measures that can be taken by bus companies and local authorities concerning crime and anti-social behaviour in bus travel.
	The Bus Partnership Forum, which I chair, brings together senior representatives from the bus industry, central and local government and has produced:
	(a) a report on Understanding Customer Needs, of value to both operators and local authorities;
	(b) a code of conduct on Service Stability to encourage local authorities and operators to agree to limit timetable changes to specific dates; and
	(c) an information pack, "Bus Priority: The Way Ahead", to help local authorities get the most out of bus priority measures.
	The Government have established the Safer Travel on Buses and Coaches Panel (STOP), bringing together bus operators, local authorities, police, unions, and other stakeholders to exchange and disseminate best practice in tackling problems caused by crime and anti-social behaviour around bus and coach travel.
	The Department will shortly be publishing three further good practice guides:
	(a) "Rural Bus Service Provision", drawing on experience with Rural Bus Grant and the Rural Bus Challenge, and aimed at local authority officers and elected Members, transport operators and other local interest groups;
	(b) guidance on local authority procurement of local bus services, replacing existing guidance published in 1999, and aimed chiefly at local authorities; and
	(c) protecting bus and coach crews, updating the 1995 booklet which advises bus drivers and crews, operators and local authorities on measures they can take to reduce the incidence and fear of crime and anti-social behaviour in bus travel.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures he has taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to promote the use of quality bus corridors; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies involved in quality bus corridors, listing the (i) number of passengers carried (A) before and (B) after implementation, (ii) number of services run and (iii) length of the schemes involved; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what specific measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to enter into a quality bus partnership; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies which have entered into a quality bus partnership; how many passengers have been carried; how many services have been run; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Department provides funding to local authorities for bus priority measures such as quality bus corridors which, in 2002–03, put in place almost 900 kilometres of improved bus routes.
	The Department has published Good Practice Guidance on Quality Bus Partnerships and has facilitated their provision on a statutory basis through powers in the Transport Act 2000, making them enforceable by traffic commissioners. Many such partnerships comprise one or more bus corridor improvements.
	The Bus Partnership Forum has published an information pack, "Bus Priority: The Way Ahead", to help local authorities get the most out of bus priority measures including bus corridors.
	Research shows that quality partnership schemes typically increase bus patronage by between 5 per cent. and 20 per cent. within the first 12 months of operation. These schemes also contribute towards modal shift, with surveys showing that around 33 per cent. of new users had previously undertaken their journey by car.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to simplify fare structures on buses to a flat-rate for all inner-city single journeys; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies that have simplified their fare structure on buses to a flat-rate for all inner-city single journeys, listing (i) the number of passengers carried (A) before and (B) after implementation and (ii) the number of services run; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The setting of bus fares in a deregulated market is a matter of commercial decision for bus operators. The appropriateness of a flat-rate fare system (with concessions for those statutorily entitled to them) will depend on the size of the urban area concerned and on travel patterns within it. Many operators are simplifying their fare structures in the light of evidence that this is what customers prefer.
	The Department's booklet, "Protecting Bus and Coach Crews", advises that simplifying fare structures can reduce the scope for disputes between passengers and drivers. This booklet is currently being revised by the Safer Travel on Buses and Coaches Panel (STOP).
	In April 2002, the Department published "Get on Board: an Agenda for Improving Personal Security in Bus Travel", including advice to operators and local authorities on using fare structures to reduce the scope for conflict between drivers and passengers.
	The Government do not collect data on flat-rate fare schemes.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to create integrated bus/rail links; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies which have created integrated bus/rail links; how many passengers were carried on the bus services (i) before and (ii) after implementation; how many bus services have been run; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Department's Local Transport Plan (LTP) funding provides local authorities with the resources from which they can develop bus/rail interchange facilities. The LTP guidance highlights the benefits of developing seamless travel conditions at interchange points where rail and bus services can dovetail to enable fully integrated journeys.
	The West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority which has Centre of Excellence status, has, for example, developed a network of modern bus interchanges in the major urban centres of the county many of which provide bus/rail links. These have the latest designs which have resulted in significant improvements in user satisfaction, and increases in passenger throughputs. They are also developing a significant number of bus/rail interchange facilities at smaller rail stations.
	The statistical information requested here is not available.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies operate a hail-and-ride system, broken down by (i) number of passengers carried, (ii) length of schemes and (iii) number of services run; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Hail-and-ride has been in common use for many years outside main urban centres. Registration documents lodged with the Traffic Commissioners record the stopping arrangements for services, including whether they are wholly or partly operated on a hail-and-ride basis, but the statistical information requested here is not available.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to operate a buy before boarding ticket system; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies which operate a buy before boarding ticket system, providing details of (i) the number of passengers carried (A) 12 months before and (B) after implementation and (ii) the number of services run; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Information about where bus tickets are sold is not held centrally. This is essentially a matter for local decision. Multi-journey tickets, particularly weekly and monthly travelcards and carnets, are commonly sold off the vehicle.
	The Department's booklet "Protecting Bus and Coach Crews" advises that the use of pre-paid tickets reduces the scope for disputes between passengers and drivers and the risk of theft created by carrying large amounts of cash on the bus. This booklet is currently being revised by the Safer Travel on Buses and Coaches Panel (STOP).

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to offer combined ticketing for bus, rail and taxi journeys; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies that offer combined tickets for bus, rail and taxi journeys; how many (i) passengers use the joint service and (ii) services run; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Transport Act 2000 empowers local authorities to make ticketing schemes covering local bus services which may include travel on connecting rail or tram services. Operators themselves may agree inter-available tickets within the terms of the Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption Order. This Order covers journeys by bus, rail, tram or ferry.
	The "Plus-bus" scheme run by "Journey Solutions" and funded by transport operators, provides an add-on bus option to rail tickets at either or both ends of a train journey. Plus-bus is currently available at 135 stations across the rail network, and is being rolled out to every major town and city in Great Britain.
	Various other combined ticketing schemes are available, particularly in major conurbations. Their terms and conditions vary from time to time and it would not be practical for central Government to collect data on them, or the number of passengers using them.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies which provide a route from rural train stations to towns not served by rail; and how many (i) passengers are carried and (ii) services there were; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to implement hub-and-spoke rural bus systems; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies which operate hub-and-spoke rural bus systems; how many (i) passengers were carried and (ii) services were run (A) 12 months before and (B) after implementation; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to set up bus routes from rural train stations to towns not served by rail; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Department is providing significant funding to improve rural bus services through the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG) and Rural Bus Challenge (RBC). This has enabled local authorities to address the transport needs of rural communities, including where necessary the provision of services from rural train stations.
	The Department has recently conducted research on the impact of RBSG and RBC funding. This showed, for example, that in allocating RBSG, several authorities gave attention to reducing barriers to travel and promoting social inclusion, by considering access and interchange requirements. More than a quarter of the authorities responding to the study's survey, specifically sponsored services that provided improved bus-rail interchange.
	The research also showed that RBC funding has allowed and encouraged the development of complex schemes involving feeder services to main routes. In Lincolnshire, for instance, the Interconnect scheme has sought to remove barriers to travel by combining infrastructure and vehicle improvements with new service patterns revolving around guaranteed interchange and, increasingly, demand responsive transport.
	The Department's Local Transport Plan funding has also enabled examples of good practice in rural rail/bus links. Cornwall which is one of the Centres of Excellence has established the first "bus branch line" in the UK. Work on the project, which fully integrates rail and bus services was completed in September 2000 and the service now operates between Redruth train station and Helston.
	The statistical information requested here is not available.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to install seating on buses where seats face each other; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: No measures have been taken to encourage either local authorities or bus companies to install seats that face each other. It is for the operators and those requiring the service to determine the best design for the seating arrangements that will get the optimum use on the route the vehicle is required for.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to enforce bus lane restrictions with (i) staff and (ii) cameras; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The use of bus priority measures, including bus lanes, as a way of providing attractive and reliable bus services has been encouraged by Local Transport Note 1/97 "Keeping Buses Moving", Traffic Advisory Leaflet 6/01 "Bus Priority" and the Bus Priority Resource Pack "The Way Ahead" published in September this year. Each of these publications points to the importance of enforcement to the extent that the priority measures in question are not self-enforcing.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies that have enforced their bus lane restrictions with (i) staff and (ii) cameras; how many (A) prosecutions for infringement there are (1) 12 months before and (2) after implementation, (B) staff are employed and (C) cameras are set up; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Responsibility for enforcement of bus lanes rests with the police or local authorities with civil enforcement powers. Information in the form requested is not collected centrally.
	Civil enforcement of bus lanes in London by London local authorities and Transport for London (TfL) has been enabled by powers contained in Part II of the London Local Authorities Act 1996. Such enforcement is carried out using bus mounted cameras, roadside cameras and closed circuit television cameras. Under the bus lane enforcement camera project run by TfL, 836 buses have been equipped with cameras and 46 roadside cameras have been installed to date. In addition, the following 12 London authorities are currently using closed circuit television cameras to enforce bus lanes in their areas: Bexley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Lambeth, Newham, Southwark, Waltham Forest and Wandsworth. In 2001–02, 290,231 penalty charge notices were issued by London local authorities and TfL for bus lane contraventions.
	Regulations under section 144 of the Transport Act 2000 enabling civil enforcement of bus lanes by local authorities outside London are in preparation.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures he has taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to improve the regularity of bus timetabling for rural services; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies that have improved the regularity of bus timetabling for rural services; how many (i) passengers were carried and (ii) services were run (A) 12 months before and (B) after implementation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Bus Partnership Forum encourages operators and local authorities to agree to limit the dates on which timetable changes are made and has produced a Code of Conduct on Service Stability for implementation locally, which was placed on the Department's website in May 2003. This code should help to stabilise the timetabling of services in rural areas, among others, but it is too soon to monitor any improvement.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to offer reduced-rate tickets for (i) pensioners, (ii) people with disabilities, (iii) children under 16 and (iv) people between the ages of 16 and 19 in full-time education; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies which have implemented reduced-rate tickets for (i) pensioners, (ii) people with disabilities, (iii) children under 16 and (iv) people between the ages of 16 and 19 in full-time education in the last five years; how many passengers were carried (A) before and (B) after implementation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: From June 2001 the Transport Act 2000 provides a standard minimum requirement for concessionary travel in England which guarantees half fares for all pensioners and disabled people on local buses, with no charge for the pass. Local authorities may make more generous provision at their discretion. From 1 April this year concessionary travel schemes are available to men aged 60 to 64, bringing them into line with women of the same age.
	Free travel to and from school is provided by local education authorities under the education acts for schoolchildren up to the age of 16 living more than the statutory walking distances from school. Under the Transport Act 1985 local authorities have a power to provide concessionary travel for school children, and for young people aged 16 to 19 who are undergoing full-time education (see table). That power applies to all journeys, not just those to or from school. Some bus operators offer reduced fares for young people on a commercial basis. These schemes will vary from time to time. In addition the Connexions Card project offers a range of commercial discounts for all 16 to 19-year-olds and the card is capable of carrying existing travel concessions.
	We do not collect information on what bus companies offer for these groups of people, nor on how many passengers were carried before and after implementation of any discount schemes, many of which have been in place for many years.
	In 2001 the Department carried out a survey about local authority concessionary travel in England. This survey showed that in 2001 the following authorities provided concessionary travel, at their discretion, for children and young people of the following age categories:
	
		
			 Under 16 16 years Students 
		
		
			 Unitaries   
			 Derby City East Riding of Yorkshire Darlington 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire Milton Keynes Derby City 
			 Isle of Wight North East Lincolnshire East Riding of Yorkshire 
			 Kingston upon Hull North Lincolnshire Hartlepool 
			 Milton Keynes Plymouth Isle of Wight 
			 North East Lincolnshire York Kingston upon Hull 
			 North Lincolnshire  Middlesbrough 
			 Swindon  Milton Keynes 
			 York  North East Lincolnshire 
			   North Lincolnshire 
			   Redcar and Cleveland 
			   Stockton on Tees 
			   Telford and Wrekin 
			   Warrington 
			   Windsor and Maidenhead 
			 Counties   
			 Derbyshire Durham Cornwall 
			 Durham Hertfordshire Derbyshire 
			 Hertfordshire Northumberland Hertfordshire 
			 Northumberland  Northumberland 
			   Surrey 
			 Passenger transport authorities   
			 Greater Manchester Greater Manchester Greater Manchester 
			 Merseyside South Yorkshire South Yorkshire 
			 South Yorkshire Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear 
			 Tyne and Wear West Midlands West Midlands 
			 West Midlands West Yorkshire West Yorkshire 
			 West Yorkshire   
			 Transport for London (TFL) TFL TFL

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to use low-emission buses; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Powering Future Vehicles strategy set a target that:
	"By 2012, 600 or more buses coming into operation per year will be low carbon".
	I recently announced a Low Carbon Bus Challenge, offering financial support under the DfT's TransportEnergy programme for bus operators to introduce and demonstrate fleets of low carbon buses. Bus operators are invited to submit expressions of interest by the end of the year.
	In addition, TransportEnergy provides grants for cleaner fuelled buses and for the retrofitting of pollution reducing equipment to existing buses and are providing funds for the CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe) Hydrogen bus project in London. They have also produced and widely distributed "The Route to Cleaner Buses: A Guide to Operating Cleaner, Low Carbon Buses".

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies using low-emission buses; what the level of emissions was (i) before and (ii) after implementation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Department has, through the TransportEnergy programme, given financial support for the purchase of 38 cleaner fuelled buses and the fitting of 4,898 buses with pollution reducing equipment. The Energy Saving Trust, which manages the programme, estimate that over the life time of these vehicles, emissions of NOx will be 4,340 tonnes less and PM10 will be 709 tonnes less. The Energy Saving Trust do not hold information on other operators using such buses.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to increase public awareness through improved advertising of bus services; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies which have improved advertising of bus services in the last five years; what estimate he has made of the number of passengers carried (i) before and (ii) after advertising campaigns; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Bus Partnership Forum recently produced a report, "Understanding Customer Needs", which was placed on the Department's website in May 2003, and has been widely publicised among operators and local authorities. The report gives many examples where intelligent marketing and branding of bus services has increased public awareness, and hence patronage of the services.
	The Department does not evaluate the effect of advertising campaigns by local authorities or bus companies.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies, to introduce yellow school buses; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies which have introduced yellow school buses; how many (i) passengers were carried and (ii) services were run in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport has commissioned an independent evaluation of yellow school bus schemes. The evaluation is now almost complete and we expect to publish the final report, which will include an analysis of the various dedicated school bus schemes currently in operation, within the next few weeks. We will make a statement at that time.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to fit bicycle racks on buses; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies which have fitted bicycle racks on buses; what estimate he has made of the number of passengers carrying bicycles (i) before and (ii) after implementation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Department recognises that combined bicycle and bus journeys have the potential to increase the market of operators as well as enabling people to use bicycles for part of a longer journey. It has encouraged local authorities and bus operators to improve the provision of cycle and bus journeys.
	The Department has funded the production of advice leaflets on combined cycle and bus journeys. The National Cycling Forum (since renamed as the National Cycling Strategy Board for England) has published:
	"Issues for Public Transport Planners and Operators"—advising public transport operators of the commercial gains that can be made by encouraging combined cycling and public transport;
	"Combined Bicycle and Bus or Coach Journeys"—a good practice guidance on all aspects of cycle and bus journeys including carriage, access and information and cycle parking at bus stations; and
	"Model Conditions of Carriage—Accommodating the Bicycle on Bus and Coach", that provides a basic model for operators to adopt on carriage.
	The Department has also commissioned research on the implications of fitting bicycle racks to the fronts of buses, the results of which are expected to be published later this year.
	We have also funded a number of schemes involving cycle racks on buses, for example, through the Rural Bus Challenge competition in separate projects in Cornwall, Shropshire and Cumbria.
	The statistical information requested here is not available.

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures have been taken to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies to provide seat belts on buses; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies that have fitted seat belts on buses in the last five years; how many (i) deaths, (ii) serious injuries and (iii) injuries there were (A) before and (B) after implementation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: This information on individual local authorities and companies is not available. However, there has been a progressive increase in the provision of seat belts on buses over the last six years. This has been due to:
	(i) legislation implemented from February 1997 to require children on organised trips in minibuses and coaches to be provided with seat belts, and
	(ii) legislation requiring all buses registered since October 2001 (apart from those specifically designed for standing passengers) to have seat belts provided for all forward and rearward-facing seats.
	Figures for fatal, serious and slight injuries to seated bus and coach passengers in Great Britain over the last 10 years are given in the table.
	
		
			  Killed Serious Slight 
		
		
			 1993 17 264 4,357 
			 1994 11 320 5,039 
			 1995 28 350 4,430 
			 1996 4 264 4,800 
			 1997 6 209 4,865 
			 1998 10 242 5,216 
			 1999 4 278 5,707 
			 2000 7 255 5,477 
			 2001 4 231 5,466 
			 2002 9 219 4,869

Concessionary Travel Schemes

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the potential costs to (a) each local authority, (b) London boroughs and (c) local government as a whole, of replacing the national minimum standards for concessionary travel schemes for people over the age of 60 with a 100 per cent. discount on fares for people over the age of 70;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the change in the local government finance settlement necessary fully to reimburse local government for the costs of replacing the national minimum standards for concessionary travel schemes for people aged over 60 with schemes providing travel tokens worth (a) £25 and (b) £50 to (i) to people aged over 60, (ii) all pensioners and (iii) to people aged over 70;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the potential cost to (a) each local authority, (b) the London boroughs and (c) local government as a whole of replacing the national minimum standards for concessionary travel schemes for people aged over 60 with schemes providing travel tokens worth (i) £25 and (ii) £50 to (A) to people aged over 60, (B) all pensioners and (C) to people aged over 70;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the change in the local government finance settlement necessary to reimburse fully local government for the costs of replacing the national minimum standards for concessionary travel schemes for people over the age of 60 with a 100 per cent. discount on fares for people over the age of 70.

Tony McNulty: The extension this year of the minimum statutory requirement to men aged 60–65 cost £50 million per year. The Government does not plan further extensions of concessionary fares. We estimate that free concessionary travel for pensioners in England (women aged 60 and over, men aged 65 and over) would cost in excess of an extra £300 million a year. We have not costed all the variants listed in the question and could do so only at disproportionate cost.

Cycling

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations were held during the preparation of the school based cycle helmet awareness programme booklet with the (a) Schools Travel Advisory Group, (b) Health Development Agency, (c) Sports and Physical Activity Board, (d) National Cycling Strategy Board, (e) cycle user groups and (f) other bodies.

David Jamieson: The Department has not produced a school based cycle helmet awareness programme booklet. However the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust has produced, "Guidelines for setting up a successful school based helmet awareness programme" booklet with Government grant financing some of the costs. The principal aims of the BHIT guidelines, to encourage school children to wear cycle helmets, are consistent with Government policy.

Dealing with Disadvantage Project

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the local authorities which have applied to his Department for special Dealing with Disadvantage grants; and if he will set out the criteria used in deciding upon the successful applications.

David Jamieson: holding answer 27 October 2003
	Applications for Dealing with Disadvantage funds have been made by:
	Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Wigan.
	Further applications have been invited from:
	Bradford, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sandwell.
	The criteria by which applications are judged are: a clear understanding of the road safety problems associated with disadvantage in the council's area; the relevance of the proposals to those problems; the likelihood of those proposals addressing the issues; the extent to which other programmes, such as Neighbourhood Renewal, have been linked to the proposal.

Dover Harbour Board

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of the Dover Harbour Board are appointed by his Department; and if he will make a statement on future policy relating to such appointments.

David Jamieson: Seven board members, including the Chairman, are appointed by the Secretary of State to the Dover Harbour Board (DHB).
	Government appointments to the DHB are made in strict accord with its policy on the appointment of all non-executive directors and board members of public bodies and we abide by guidelines set out by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA). We have no current plans to alter this policy.

Driving Licence Applications

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his target is for the time taken to process a provisional driving licence application from the date of receipt to the applicant receiving the licence, in cases where the applicant indicates that they have a relevant medical condition; and what proportion of licences were issued within this target in each of the last three years.

David Jamieson: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's published charter standards for dealing with applications, where a medical condition has to be considered, are as follows:
	(a) if a decision can be made based on the information originally provided by the applicant, the Agency aims to make a decision on 97.5 per cent. of cases within 15 working days;
	(b) if further information is needed about the medical condition from the applicant, his doctors or other sources, the Agency aims to make a decision on 80 per cent. of cases within 90 working days.
	The Agency has reported against these standards since April 2002. In financial year 2002–03, the cumulative performance was for (a) 98 per cent. of cases were cleared within 15 working days and for (b) 80.2 per cent. of cases were cleared within 90 working days.
	Since April this year, the cumulative performance is for (a) 95.4 per cent. of cases have been cleared within 15 working days and for (b) 78.7 per cent. of cases have been cleared within 90 working days.
	No separate figures are available for provisional driving licence applications.

Road Deaths

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2003, Official Report, column 240W, on road deaths, whether the information provided by the Dutch on new traffic arrangements at various sites in North Holland indicated decreases in casualties; and what reasons were given by the two UK authorities for considering more familiar techniques rather than the measures used in North Holland.

Kim Howells: Information was supplied on 15 locations in North Holland that had been treated in innovative ways. Only two of the locations had an injury accident record showing more than one injury per year (one had two in a single year, one had three). Of the 15 treatments, 13 were neutral in their influence on injuries, one may have saved injuries and one may have put injuries up. In all cases, though, the casualty numbers are very small.
	No specific reasons were given by UK authorities, in discussion with Department officials, for not including measures used in North Holland. The discussions took place while the authorities were considering various approaches in the design of traffic management for the areas under consideration. Removing traffic signals was just one technique in the approach used in North Holland for sharing space. We are not aware that either of the UK sites had traffic signals but the authorities were considering a range of techniques similar to those used in North Holland. Lower vehicle speeds plays a key part in this. Reducing the dominance of motor vehicles allow alternative urban treatments aimed at providing a more equal allocation of space for all road users.

Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a regulatory risk assessment of the proposal to amend the Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations in respect of tinted windows.

David Jamieson: No assessment was produced because the regulation amendment did not change anything—it merely clarified an existing provision of law.

US Reserve Fleet

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what communications he has received, and on what date, from the right hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Mandelson) in respect of the proposal to bring ships from the US Reserve Fleet to Teesside for disposal; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 20 October 2003
	Correspondence between the Department and its correspondents is treated in confidence unless the originator chooses to make it public.

Vehicle Excise Duty Offences

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library the terms of the netting off arrangement agreed between his Department and Her Majesty's Treasury in relation to the costs and penalty income arising from vehicle excise duty offences.

David Jamieson: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The terms of the netting off arrangement are contained in the "Proposed governance arrangements for the cost recovery system for continuous registration" document which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Vehicle Excise Duty Offences

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the components of the cost estimate over three years to the DVLA in implementing continuous registration; and what he estimates will be the gross proceeds from penalties levied on vehicle excise duty offenders.

David Jamieson: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The components of the cost estimate over three years in implementing continuous registration are contained in the "Proposed governance arrangements for the cost recovery system for continuous registration" document which will be placed in the Library of the House. The cost information appears on page 1–9 paragraph 1.3.

Vehicle Registration

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles are outside the vehicle registration system; and how many of these will be brought back into the system through the measures set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) (No 3) Regulations 2003.

David Jamieson: holding answer 27 October 2003
	These are currently 2.1 million vehicles on the vehicle record with no current keeper details, although not all of these will be in use on our roads.
	As I announced on 22 May, I have set the DVLA tough new targets in relation to Continuous Registration, which have to be achieved by 2007. One objective is to halve the number of vehicles outside the system, either by relicensing them or by removing them from the road.
	The purpose of the regulations is to stop further seepage out of the system by making keepers of vehicles responsible for taxing them until the DVLA are informed that the vehicle has been sold or taken off the road. This will be assisted by enhanced checking procedures for the identity of new keepers when DVLA is informed of a change of keeper.
	In addition, as a result of the publicity that will accompany the new arrangements, it is anticipated that many unlicensed vehicles will be brought back onto the register by their keepers relicensing them.
	Vehicles outside the system will be dealt with through enhanced enforcement measures—mainly wheel clamping and removal—undertaken by the DVLA. Since April 2002 local authorities can now take on the powers of DVLA in clamping unlicensed vehicles. 14 authorities have these powers already, three are being inducted into their use currently and a further 27 are in talks with DVLA about taking on these powers. This will complement DVLA's own wheel clamping capacity and will ensure that vehicles currently outside the system are properly dealt with.

WALES

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to his answer of 1 July 2003, Official Report, column 258W, on asbestos, if he will list the buildings which have been identified as containing asbestos.

Don Touhig: Following the Asbestos Survey of 2002, Gwydyr House was found to contain asbestos.

Miners' Compensation

Donald Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been paid under the (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and (b) vibration white finger schemes in Wales, broken down by constituency.

Don Touhig: I will write to my right hon. Friend as soon as possible and place a copy of the letter in the House of Commons Library.

DEFENCE

Draft EU Constitution

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what commitments of capability the UK plans to make to the EU under Articles III—210 to 214 of the Draft EU Constitution.

Geoff Hoon: The EU's Headline Goal, towards which the UK has offered a substantial military contribution, is due to be reviewed. The review will need to take account of the strategic environment, including the outcome of negotiations on the draft Treaty. The Government will then consider whether any changes to the UK contribution are appropriate. Under the draft Treaty, the commitment of national resources by Member States to ESDP operations will as now be based on their sovereign decisions.

European Armaments Agency

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what budget is planned for the first year of the European Armaments, Research and Military Capabilities Agency.
	(2)  what level of (a) financial and (b) personnel commitment the UK plans to make to the European Armaments, Research and Military Capabilities Agency.

Geoff Hoon: The organisational and financial arrangements, including the contributions to be made by individual Member States, for the proposed European agency in the field of defence capabilities development, research, acquisition and armaments are under discussion with European partners.

Ex-service Personnel

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what help is given to ex-service personnel who have difficulty in returning to civilian life; and if he will make a statement on his assessment of the emotional changes that can result.

Ivor Caplin: In my statement of 17 September 2003, Official Report, column 51WS, I drew Member's attention to the King's College London research paper published on the same day. It confirmed the MOD's assessment that although joining the armed forces is generally a positive experience, with the overwhelming majority of Service Personnel who have difficulty making the transition back to civilian life. Personnel most vulnerable to problems of transition include those discharged for medical reasons, including mental health conditions, as well as those dismissed for disciplinary reasons, premature leavers and those discharged as temperamentally unsuitable.
	The MOD has a comprehensive range of measures to prevent or help deal with these potential difficulties. All Service Personnel who are medically discharged are entitled to the full resettlement package available to personnel serving prescribed lengths of service, including a career transition workshop, financial and housing briefings and individual interviews with a career consultant who is available for up to two years after discharge. When Service Personnel are medically discharged, the Veterans Agency automatically considers entitlement to pensions and allowances under the War Pension Scheme. Disablement pensions are tax-free and not income-related. The scheme includes a range of supplementary allowances to address the disabling effects of accepted disorders, for example, mobility and care. The War Pensioners' Welfare Service, located throughout the United Kingdom, provides war pensions advice, information and help to access appropriate services. When personnel leave the armed forces, their medical management becomes the responsibility of the national health service (NHS). Since the 1950s war pensioners have been entitled to NHS Priority Treatment for their accepted disorders.
	The MOD has recently developed an Early Service Leavers Initiative which involves a programme to improve the transition process for those who leave early for whatever reason and are not eligible therefore, for the full resettlement package. The overarching aim is to create a resettlement umbrella that will cover all Service leavers. The Initiative provides for a range of measures that will include a mandatory resettlement interview to assess vulnerability, provide guidance on access to Job Centre Plus and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits, housing associations, financial matters and give contact details for the ex-Service charities and other welfare organisations.
	As part of the Veterans Initiative, projects are in place or being developed on housing and homelessness and employment issues. Many of these involve the voluntary sector. Close contact is also being maintained with the DWP Pathways to Work Project and MOD is represented on the Social Exclusion Unit's Mental Health Project. This is inter-Departmental and is looking at how to improve employment rates for adults with mental health problems, both in terms of take-up and retention of jobs and how to promote greater social participation and access to services for this group. The Department of Health (DoH) has designated mental health in the community at large as one of its key priorities. MOD is working closely with DoH colleagues to explore better services including delivery of mental health services for veterans and improved access to services. This will include work to increase Service leavers' and veterans' awareness of NHS facilities and services and to brief health professionals on military matters and culture.

Service Accommodation

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many units within his Department's married quarters estate will be upgraded in each of the next five years.

Ivor Caplin: For financial year 2003–04,1 refer the hon. Member to my Written Ministerial Statement on 2 July Official Report, columns 18–19WS. Planned targets for financial years 2004–05, 2006–06 and 2006–07 were published in this year's Ministry of Defence Departmental Plan. Copies are available in the Library of the House. No target has yet been identified for financial year 2007–08, but will emerge from the decisions made in the MOD's Short Term Planning process.

Service Accommodation

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was in each of the last five years of upgrading properties in his Department's married quarters estate; and what the planned expenditure is for this financial year.

Ivor Caplin: The cost of upgrading Service Family Accommodation to Standard 1 for condition in mainland United Kingdom in each of the past five financial years was:
	
		
			 Year £ million 
		
		
			 1998–99 2.14 
			 1999–2000 48 
			 2000–01 56.7 
			 2002–02 78.0 
			 2002–03 52.7 
			 Total 256.8 
		
	
	For the current Financial Year the estimated outturn on upgrade projects is £40.4 million.
	These figures include capital projects where new properties replace demolished properties. The cost of new build stock provided through PFI projects is not included.
	In addition to the above, a number of properties benefited from improvements and partial upgrades through property management contracts.

Service Accommodation

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he estimates his Department's upgrade programme for the married quarters estate will be completed by November 2005; how many units are part of this upgrade programme; how many units have been upgraded so far; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 153W, by my hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy (Dr. Moonie).
	Over 8,800 properties have been upgraded to Standard 1, the highest standard, since 1999 and over 90 per cent. of Service families now live in properties at either Standard 1 or 2.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Combined Heat and Power

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme benefits combined heat and power systems.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 14 October 2003
	The Government are aware of concerns that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme may act as a disincentive for the installation of combined heat and power (CHP) technologies. For this reason we are considering options for the treatment of CHP plants in the process of developing the National Allocation Plan.
	The CHP industry believe that supplying operators in this situation with allowances for free from a limited CHP set-aside may act as an incentive. In this case operators installing new CHP plants would be provided with allowances equal to the difference in emissions between their existing or proposed traditional boiler and the proposed CHP plant. We are considering this and other options in the draft National Allocation Plan which we intend to publish for consultation in early December, giving industry an opportunity to comment on the various options.

Fuels Protocol

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to seek to amend the substitute Fuels Protocol; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Environment Agency asked its Regional Environment Protection Advisory Committees (REPACS), in June, to consider the need for review of the Substitute Fuels Protocol and their views are being taken into account in the preparation of a formal consultation paper, which the Agency hopes to publish in November. Interested stakeholders will have three months from publication in which to respond to the consultation.

Animal Welfare

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many authorisations for export have been granted by the animal exports division for captive wild animals in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) breed and (b) destination; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not available in the form requested. However according to our computer systems used for issuing export health certificates and CITES certificates, the following numbers of export certificates and permits have been issued during the last three years for categories of animals which exclude livestock, horses and pets.
	CITES certificates are issued under the "Washington" Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, more commonly known as CITES. The aim is to protect certain plants and animals by regulating and monitoring their international trade to prevent it reaching unsustainable levels.
	
		Animal health
		
			  To EU countries To non-EU countries 
		
		
			 2001 382 237 
			 2002 504 283 
			 2003 419 229 
		
	
	
		CITES
		
			  Exports (non-EU) 
		
		
			 2001 1,726 
			 2002 1,324 
			 2003 1,509 
		
	
	The records for these exports are not kept in a format which readily shows a breakdown by breed and destination. For CITES specimens the main exports are of falcons to Middle East destinations.

Beef

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable she has set for the resumption of unrestricted beef exports to the EU when BSE cases in the UK have fallen to below the moderate risk status threshold.

Ben Bradshaw: It is not possible to give a precise date for any such relaxation of current beef export controls. We have submitted papers to the European Commission to support our case for lifting restrictions and these are now being considered by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). EFSA's opinion is expected in early 2004. In addition an inspection by the EU Food and Veterinary Office is likely to be required. We would then need agreement with other member states and changes to EU regulations. Export controls are therefore unlikely to change before mid 2004.

Beef

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what targets have been set for the introduction of (a) beef from cattle born after August 1996 onto the UK market from 24 April 2004 and (b) moderate risk status beef onto the UK market before autumn 2004; and if she will make a statement on progress towards these targets.

Ben Bradshaw: Ministers are currently considering Food Standard's Agency recommendations on changes to the Over Thirty Month rule. Beef from over thirty month cattle born after August 1996 will not therefore be allowed onto the UK market before April 2004.
	We have worked closely with the Meat and Livestock Commission to examine how the domestic market can absorb the extra beef from cattle born after 1 August 1996 and the balanced view of the industry is that this can be achieved by import substitution and increases in processed product consumption. We are also pressing the commission to introduce market support arrangements should there be a short term need.
	With regards to moderate risk status, the commission has sought advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on amending the Date-based Export Scheme (DBES) for UK beef and our methodology of scaling up testing results to support our claim that export restrictions should be lifted so that the UK can trade on the same basis as other member states. An EFSA opinion is expected in early 2004.

Beef

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions her Department has had with the United States Department of Agriculture on United Kingdom beef exports.

Ben Bradshaw: We lobbied the United States Department of Agriculture in October 2002, in collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as part of a wider lobbying strategy of third countries to lift their bans on UK beef exports. Plans for further such lobbying are kept under continuing review in the light of developments with the associated EU rules.

Common Agricultural Policy

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations her Department has received from the horticultural industry over Common Agricultural Policy Reform.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The department has received a number of representations from the horticulture industry in response to our consultation on the implementation options under the CAP reform agreement. Most of these representations have argued in favour of an area based approach in implementing the new Single Payment Scheme.

Dairy Farms

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimates she has made of the (a) average net value and (b) average net profit of dairy farms in the (i) 12 months to March 2002 and (ii) 12 months to March 2003.

Ben Bradshaw: Results from the Farm Business Survey published earlier this year show that the average net worth of full-time dairy farms in the year ending March 2002 to be £415,000. The average Occupiers Net Income for the same period was £22,200. The data for the year ending March 2003 will be published in March
	2004.
	Occupiers net income is defined as the return to the farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and on all their capital invested in the business. This is the most appropriate income measure to compare with net worth.

EU Directives

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which EU directives relating to environmental matters would incur a financial penalty if the commitments were not met; and how much each fine would be, per annum.

Ben Bradshaw: Failure by any part of the UK to observe EU obligations may lead to enforcement action being taken by the European Commission in the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
	If a member state fails to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment of the European Court of Justice within the time limit specified, the member state may incur either a lump sum penalty or a daily penalty payment. The penalty payment would be based on a uniform flat rate amount, multiplied by two coefficients, one reflecting the seriousness of the infringement, and the other the duration. This would then be multiplied by a factor reflecting the ability of the member state to pay and the number of votes it has in Council.

Fallen Stock Scheme

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when details on the application of the National Fallen Stock Scheme will be announced; and what consultation there has been with farmers on the scheme.

Ben Bradshaw: Rapid progress is now being made on the establishment of this Scheme. We have recently announced the names of the Directors who will sit on the Board of the company that will run the Scheme. These were selected by organisations representing the farming industry and cover regional and sectoral interests. They are now addressing key issues associated with Scheme rules. The Scheme administrators are developing the necessary computer software for recording farmer details and registration. If things go according to plan we hope that the Scheme will be up and running early in the New Year.

Farming

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has commissioned into the age profile of those in the farming community; and what measures she is taking to encourage younger people into the agriculture industry.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The Government recognise the importance of encouraging new entrants into farming. The Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food sets out how industry, Government and consumers must work together to secure profitable and internationally competitive farming and food industries, which are attractive to those already engaged in them and to potential new entrants.
	This Department has commissioned research which will seek to identify the existence and nature of any artificial barriers to new entrants, and the potential means by which such barriers might be overcome.

Farming

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with non-farming commercial interests regarding loss insurance in the event of a disease outbreak in (a) farmed livestock and (b) crops.

Ben Bradshaw: The discussions are the same ones referred to in the answer I gave to my right hon. Friend on 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 1185W.

Fisheries

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether (a) the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and (b) the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries has scientific evidence on the connection between fishing effort by the UK fishing fleet and the levels of fish stocks in UK national waters; and if she will review fisheries management systems including those applied by the Faeroese and Icelandic industries.

Ben Bradshaw: In recognition of the migratory behaviour of the fish species concerned, stock assessments and related work are carried out on identifiably discrete stocks of fish, rather than according to national boundaries. For the same reason they are carried out by independent international organisations, which combine data from most of the main countries and fleets that exploit each stock in order to assess their impact on stocks. As part of this process, the scientists from the UK who attend the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, (STECF) therefore submit data on our national catch, and on fishing effort, to inform the discussions. I expect the report being prepared on fisheries by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit to cover a broad range of issues related to fisheries management, including possible alternative management systems.

Fruit Marketing Standards

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made with EU negotiations over the marketing standard for apples and pears.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The EU Commission's proposals to amend the marketing standard for apples are expected to be presented at the November meeting of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Management Committee.

Biofuels

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what quantity of biofuel the United Kingdom imported from (a) Germany and (b) France in the last year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 27 October 2003
	Currently, around 2 million litres of biodiesel are sold each month in the UK. Around half of this is imported but information is not collected on the country of origin.

Biofuels

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of the duty reduction to 20 pence a litre for biofuels.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The cut in the duty on biodiesel has already brought forward production of biodiesel from recycled vegetable oil. This offers waste reduction benefits as well as savings in carbon dioxide emissions. Currently, around 2 million litres of biodiesel are sold each month from over 130 filling stations in the UK. Companies are actively considering the production of biodiesel from UK-grown oilseed rape.

Biofuels

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's estimate is of (a) the percentage of the United Kingdom's farmland suitable for growing biofuel crops and (b) the quantity of biofuel that could be produced from this land.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 27 October 2003
	As biofuels can be produced from mainstream arable crops, a large proportion of the UK's 4.2 million hectares of arable land (2001–02 figures) is suitable for growing biofuel feedstocks. The key factor in determining the amount of land used is the need for the market return to the farmer to be sufficient to motivate diversion from production for established food and animal feed markets. Achieving the Biofuels Directive's reference target of 5.75 per cent. use of biofuels by 2010 would require the production of biofuels from waste vegetable oil, plus feedstocks from around 1 million hectares of agricultural land.

Greyhounds

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what actions her Department is taking to tackle abuse of greyhounds.

Ben Bradshaw: Officials are discussing with the racing industry and welfare organisations possible measures to improve the welfare of greyhounds under the proposed Animal Welfare Bill.

Shooting/Fishing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to maintain the existing regulatory framework not to introduce further restrictions on (a) fishing and (b) shooting laws.

Ben Bradshaw: Within our manifesto is a firm commitment not to introduce further restrictions on the sports of fishing or shooting. The Government recognises the significant contribution that shooting can give to the social, economic and environmental well-being of rural areas, where it can provide a supplement to incomes and jobs, and contribute to conservation of landscapes, habitats and wildlife.
	When undertaken correctly, we fully recognise the usefulness of shooting as a wildlife management measure. For species such as deer and foxes, lawful shooting is one of the recommended methods of population control and can be very effective. In addition the Government fully supports The Code of Good Shooting Practice, launched by the County Land and Business Association earlier this year, which is based on the following "golden rules":
	To ensure safe conduct, those involved in shooting must show respect for the countryside and consideration for others.
	Shoot managers must endeavour to deliver enhancement of wildlife conservation, habitat and the countryside.
	Reared gamebirds should be released before the start of their shooting season.
	Respect for quarry is paramount. It is fundamental to mark and retrieve all birds. Shot game is food and must be treated as such.
	Game management and shooting must at all times be conducted within the law and the principles of the Code of Practice.
	Angling provides an easily accessible activity that can bring people of all ages, especially the young, into a sport that teaches discipline, respect for the environment and helps them to realise their potential. It is one of the UK's most popular sports in terms of participation with more than two million people involved.
	Angling and shooting—as with all sports—have an important role to play in the life of this country, and in helping to tackle some of the our major problems, such as crime, social problems and regeneration. This Government remains committed to angling and shooting, and to working with the governing bodies in the best interests of anglers and shooters for the overall development of those sports.

Illegal Meat Imports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her Department's progress in tackling illegal meat imports.

Ben Bradshaw: Progress against the Government's Action Plan on illegal imports in the financial year 2002–03 is reported in the Annual Review of Controls on Imports of Animal Products. Copies have been placed in the House Libraries.
	The 2003–04 Action Plan is appended to the Review, and we are working with HM Customs and other responsible parties to implement it. HM Customs took over responsibility for anti-smuggling controls at the border on 11 April this year. Progress will be reported in the next Annual Review, to be published after the end of this financial year.

Japanese Knotweed

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the spread of Japanese knotweed; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: I am aware of the problems caused by the spread of Japanese knotweed. The Department commissioned a new survey of plants in Britain and Ireland between 1987 and 1999 to produce updated 10-km square distribution maps of all plant species found in the wild. The results of this research were published in the New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora in September 2002. This included information on the spread of non-native plants such as Japanese knotweed.
	The Botanical Society for the British Isles continues to collect records for all native and the majority of non-native species (including Japanese Knotweed) in the UK and submit them to the Biological Record Centre at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
	This Department is collaborating with a consortium led by Cornwall county council to undertake a four year project researching the biological control of Japanese knotweed. The study will undertake the necessary research to establish whether biological control is a feasible method for the long-term, sustainable management of Japanese knotweed in the UK.

Livestock Markets

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many livestock markets there were in 1997, broken down by county; how many of them closed during the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001; how many markets (a) did not open after the outbreak and (b) have closed since; and how many livestock markets there are in each county;
	(2)  which livestock markets have closed in each of the last six years.

Ben Bradshaw: The information in the format requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, based upon information provided by the Livestock Auctioneers Association, in 1997 there were 199 livestock auction markets in England and Wales compared with 140 currently. Of the closures 40 have been since February 2001.

Official Visits

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what official overseas visits she made in 2002.

Margaret Beckett: In addition to regular Agriculture and Environment Council Meetings in Brussels and Luxembourg, I made official visits to the following countries:
	January: Germany and Poland—Bilaterals
	February: India—World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
	March: Denmark—CAPRI (CAP Reform Meeting) and South Africa—WSSD
	April: USA and Canada—WSSD and Spain—Informal Agriculture Council
	June: Indonesia—WSSD
	July: France—OECD and Denmark—Informal Environment Council
	August: South Africa—WSSD
	September: Denmark—Informal Agriculture Council
	October: France—The Global Food Marketplace (SIAL), Germany—Bilateral and India—Trade Visit

Renewable Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what additional incentives will be made available to the forestry industry to produce renewable products for use in power stations.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 22 October 2003
	Defra, in association with the devolved administrations and the Forestry Commission, is setting up a £3.5 million UK-wide Bio-energy Infrastructure Scheme. This scheme will help develop the supply chain required to harvest, store, process and supply biomass, such as energy crops and forestry woodfuel, to energy end-users. The European Commission's approval of the scheme is currently being sought. Subject to this, Defra hopes to launch the scheme in early 2004. Markets for woodfuel in heat, combined heat and power, and power generation are being developed through the Department of Trade and Industry/New Opportunities Fund's Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme.

Renewable Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on further assistance for the agriculture industry in producing biomass for use in power stations.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 23 October 2003
	This Department is committed to supporting biomass for energy use. In addition to Defra's existing Energy Crops Scheme, which provides funding to support the planting of energy crops and the setting up of producer groups, there are several new initiatives which will support biomass.
	Under the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, crops for energy use can continue to be grown on both set-aside and non set-aside land and will receive payments under the new Single Payments Scheme. An additional Euro 45 per hectare will be available from 1 January 2004 for energy crops grown on non set-aside land. A maximum guaranteed area of 1.5m hectares is fixed for the EU for this additional payment and aid will be reduced if production exceeds that area. Defra, in association with the devolved administrations and the Forestry Commission, is setting up a £3.5 million UK-wide Bio-energy Infrastructure Scheme. This scheme will help develop the supply chain required to harvest, store, process and supply biomass to energy end-users.
	Markets for biomass in heat, combined heat and power, and power generation are being developed through the Department of Trade and Industry/New Opportunities Fund's Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme. The Department of Trade and Industry is currently consulting stakeholders on changes to the rules for co-firing biomass with fossil fuels in conventional power stations. The proposed changes will give longer timescales for the use of biomass, thereby making co-firing a more attractive option for both farmers and power generators.

Renewable Energy

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with other Government Departments on the potential for future expansion in the use of biofuels.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has had a number of discussions, both at ministerial and official level, with the Treasury, HM Customs and Excise, the Department for Transport, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Inland Revenue. The potential for biofuels has also been considered by the Ministerial Low Carbon Group and the Ministerial Group on the Implementation of the Energy White Paper.

Renewable Energy

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the farming industry about the opportunities for growers to produce biofuel crops.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has had a number of discussions, both at ministerial and official level, with the National Farmers Union, the Country Land and Business Association and with trade organisations, such as the British Association for Biofuels and Oils and British BioGen, which include farming industry representatives amongst their members. Officials have also had discussions with many individual farmers, plant breeders, agricultural suppliers, farming consultants, other agricultural businesses and potential project developers.

Renewable Energy

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what quantity of palm oil the United Kingdom imported for use in the biofuel industry in the last year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: Total imports of palm oil in 2001, the latest year for which figures are available, amounted to 1.28 million tonnes. Information is not collected on the use of the oil. Some palm oil is known to be used in the production of biodiesel.

Research and Development

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors explain the difference between the figure of £131 million stated in Press Release 133/03 from her Department to be the spending on research and development by her Department during financial year 2002–03 and the figure of £174 million presented in the publication Forward Look (Cm 5877).

Ben Bradshaw: The figure of £131 million stated in Press Release 133/03 correctly reflects the Department's baseline for R&D expenditure in 2002–03. This is funding that the Department spends directly on R&D services to support its policies.The R&D figure provided in the Government's Forward Look of Science, Engineering and Technology includes the DEFRA R&D baseline of £131 million, but also incorporates indirect expenditure by DEFRA Agencies and NDPBs (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; English Nature; Environment Agency; and Countryside Agency) leading to the higher overall figure for DEFRA.

Smog

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of the contribution of conventionally powered vehicles to (a) summer smog and (b) winter smog.

Ben Bradshaw: The most important component of summer smog is ground level ozone. Ozone is not emitted directly by vehicles. It is a secondary pollutant formed from precursor gases. Due to the complexities of the chemistry of ozone formation it is not possible to provide a quantitative estimate of the contribution of conventionally powered vehicles to summer smog.
	The major chemical precursors for ground level ozone in industrialised nations are oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons produced mainly by conventionally powered motor vehicles and industry. Ozone and its precursors can be transported over hundreds of kilometres making ozone a transboundary pollutant. Local emissions of precursors do not generally make a significant contribution to local ozone concentrations in the UK.
	The most important components of winter smog are particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). PM10 is a complex mixture of local primary combustion particles, mechanically generated particles and secondary particles formed in the atmosphere from oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide and transported over hundreds of kilometres. 18 per cent. of UK PM10 emissions are from road traffic sources and 42 per cent. of NOX emissions are from road traffic sources. The contribution from road traffic sources to ambient concentrations in cities during winter smog episodes is likely to be higher than implied by national emission totals. Studies suggest that between 25 per cent. and 40 per cent. of PM10 concentrations and 50–70 per cent. of oxides of nitrogen concentrations are likely to be derived from road traffic in urban areas.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Call Centres

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department plans to outsource call centre work to premises outside the United Kingdom.

Patricia Hewitt: There are no plans to outsource overseas the call centres operated by my Department, ACAS, the Small Business Service or British Trade International (which brings together the work of my Department and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in support of British trade and investment overseas).
	The Chief Executives of my Department's other Agencies will reply direct to my hon. Friend.

Combined Heat and Power

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the allocation of allowances under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme will benefit low carbon technologies such as combined heat and power.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are aware of concerns that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme may act as a disincentive for the installation of combined heat and power (CHP) technologies. For this reason we are considering options for the treatment of CHP plants in the process of developing the National Allocation Plan.
	The CHP industry believe that supplying operators in this situation with allowances for free from a limited CHP set-aside may act as an incentive. In this case operators installing new CHP plants would be provided with allowances equal to the difference in emissions between their existing or proposed traditional boiler and the proposed CHP plant. We are considering this and other options in the draft National Allocation Plan which we intend to publish for consultation in early December, giving industry an opportunity to comment on the various options.

Construction Industry

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will commission research into the impact of the practice of retentions in the construction industry on the continuing viability of companies and individual traders; and what plans she has to promote legislation on this subject.

Nigel Griffiths: The DTI reviews all key research on retentions and has no plans to incur expenditure on duplicating independent research. The Government agree with the Trade and Industry Select Committee's views on legislation on retentions in that there is:
	"no attraction in the prospect of engineering their abolition through legislation".

Construction Industry

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the number of employers in the construction industry who pay (a) less than the agreed national rate and (b) less than the national minimum wage; and what steps she is taking to prosecute employers who pay less than the legal minimum.

Nigel Griffiths: The Government does not have information on the number of employers paying less than the nationally agreed rate or the national minimum wage in the construction industry.
	We are not being complacent on the enforcement of the national minimum wage. The Inland Revenue completed over 6,200 investigations in 2002–03, identifying more than £3.5 million in minimum wage arrears on behalf of underpaid employees in the economy as a whole. The National Minimum Wage (Enforcement Notices) Act 2003 also came into force on 8 July 2003. The Act makes it absolutely clear that Revenue officers can issue enforcement notices (an instruction to employers requiring them to start paying the minimum wage to workers and make good any arrears of pay) on behalf of former workers as well as current ones thus closing an enforcement loophole.

Consumer Direct

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost has been of the Consumer Direct initiative.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The cost of the Consumer Direct initiative to date is £1,150,000.

Consumer Direct

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the purpose of (a) Consumer Direct and (b) the Consumer Gateway.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The purpose of Consumer Direct is to increase the provision, quality and consistency of consumer advice across England, Scotland and Wales. Current unmet demand for consumer advice is estimated at up to 1.5m calls per annum ("DTI Consumer Helplines Study", February 2002).
	The Consumer Direct approach is to empower consumers to make the right choices and to resolve problems themselves, so placing more effective pressure on companies to improve. Consumer Direct will also increase the quality and coverage of information for those enforcing consumer legislation.
	The Consumer Gateway acts as a portal to consumer information available online. It provides links to a variety of relevant information sources. Consumer Gateway will be subsumed by Consumer Direct Online when it goes live next summer.

Consumer Direct

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether it is the policy of the Government to provide advice on individual consumer (a) problems and (b) complaints; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 27 October 2003
	It is Government policy to increase people's access to quality consumer advice and information through Consumer Direct. Local Authorities, working in partnership within the English Government Office regions, Scotland and Wales, will be responsible for running Consumer Direct contact centres. These centres will provide advice on individual consumer problems and complaints via telephone or e-mail, or will refer consumers to local Consumer Support Network members if further help is required, or to other organisations who are better placed to assist. Consumer Direct will allow existing advice services to focus their skills and resources where they can add most value, in particular helping vulnerable consumers, providing face-to-face advice, implementing education programmes and clamping down on rogue traders and scams.

Departmental Staff

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff of her Department were redeployed out of London and the South East in the last five years.

Patricia Hewitt: There have been no major redeployments of DTI staff out of London and the South East in the past five years. We are unable to provide figures for individual members of staff who have moved to the Department's numerous offices outside London and the South East in the same period without incurring disproportionate cost. Support work on Finance and Human Resources has, however, been moved to Billingham and Cardiff over the past two years.

Departmental Staff

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) special advisers, (b) press officers, (c) civil servants, (d) advisers to civil servants and (e) permanent staff were working for her Department in each year since 1996.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer the hon. Member to Table C of the annual publication, "Civil Service Statistics", which covers Permanent Staff Numbers in each Department and agency from 1995 to 2002. Copies of the publication are held in the Libraries of the House. The latest edition was published on 24 July 2003. These figures include press officers.
	Information is also available at the following address on the Cabinet Office Statistics website: http//www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics/css.htm My special advisers are currently Jim Godfrey, Kitty Usher, Deborah Lincoln and Roger Sharp. Roger Sharp is part-time.

Exports

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value is at current prices of United Kingdom (a) exports to and (b) imports from (i) Europe, (ii) Africa, (iii) Australasia, (iv) North America, (v) South America, (vi) the Middle East and (vii) Asia in each year since 1973; and what percentage of (A) UK and (B) world trade UK trade with these regions constituted in each of these years.

Mike O'Brien: An answer to the question could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on UK trade, published by HM Customs and Excise, gives figures for selected regions of the world but these do not correspond to the regions required. It would, therefore, be necessary to use data for UK trade with individual countries and aggregate them to arrive at the totals for the required regions. UK trade data prior to 1988 are not available electronically so compiling this part of the answer would require manual entry of 6,000 numbers. Another 6,000 items of data would have to be downloaded from the trade database for more recent information on UK trade. Downloading recent data is complicated by various political changes that have taken place over the period in question, such as the break up of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, as well as the German unification. As a result of these changes, several countries did not exist in the earlier years but do now, while some that did exist earlier no longer do so. Finally, the combined set would have to be aggregated to provide trade statistics for the specified regions.
	The second part of the question requires a comparison of trade by the UK and the World. Information on world trade is available from the International Monetary Fund (Direction of Trade Statistics), but again, their regions do not correspond to those required to answer the question. For example, the IMF grouped centrally planned economies together, as a separate "region", although geographically they were in (Eastern) Europe, Asia and Central America. It would be necessary to calculate regional totals from those for individual countries. The IMF data are not available in electronic form so this procedure would entail manually compiling a database consisting of 30 years' worth of data for around 200 countries for two trade flows (imports and exports).
	For strict comparability, it would be advisable to use the IMF source for UK trade rather than Customs' figures. In all, this would entail manually compiling a data set of around 24,000 figures, which would then need to be processed to arrive at the information required.

Fireworks

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what efforts are being made to reduce the risks that are present when consumers purchase fireworks from illegitimate outlets;
	(2)  what guidance she gives to the public on ensuring that the fireworks that they buy are from legitimate sources.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Under the Explosives Act 1875, which is the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive, retail premises are required to be registered with the local authority in order to store and display fireworks for sale. The 1875 Act also makes it illegal to sell fireworks in the street. Trading standards departments are responsible for enforcing these measures giving them particular priority during the firework season.
	The Department, through the annual fireworks safety campaign, urges the public to take care when using fireworks and make sure when buying fireworks they are marked as complying with British Standard 7114, the British safety standard for consumer fireworks.

Fireworks

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what action her Department is taking with the Home Office to keep fireworks from being a nuisance;
	(2)  what plans her Department has to enable authorities to keep track of fireworks once they have left the port of entry.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Fireworks Act 2003, which received the Royal Assent on 18 September, will allow the Department to make regulations covering a range of firework issues which we are currently unable to regulate under the Consumer Protection Act 1987. These include restricting firework sales and use, licensing of retailers, controlling noise and nuisance and the importation of fireworks.
	We hope to implement the part of the Act concerning the creating an offence for possession of fireworks by those under 18 years of age by Christmas. The Department is currently having discussions with the Home Office.
	We will start implementation of the part of the Act in relation to the importation of fireworks in the New Year. This relates to the giving of information on firework imports to help keep track of fireworks once they have left the point of entry.

Fireworks

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will lay regulations under the Fireworks Act 2003.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The majority of regulations to be made under the Fireworks Act 2003 are expected to be laid in the summer of 2004.
	The Department is also looking into the possibility of implementing certain parts of the Act that deal with the anti-social use of fireworks—possibly before Christmas, in which case regulations could be laid in December.

Fireworks

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations will take place on regulations to be introduced under the Fireworks Bill; with whom consultations will be held; and over what period.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 14 October 2003
	The Department has begun preliminary consultations with key stakeholders on the form that Fireworks Regulations will take. Draft Regulations will be published, along with a Regulatory Impact Assessment, in spring 2004. Therefore, we expect Regulations to become law in Summer 2004?in good time for next year's fireworks season.
	In the immediate term, the Department is also looking into the possibility of implementing those parts of the Act identified as dealing with the anti-social use of fireworks, which, if judged suitable, will be implemented before the end of the year. We have already had preliminary consultations on this and, if Regulations are to be made, we will consult on these shortly.
	Our stakeholders include other Government Departments; the Police Service; trading standards; religious groups; the industry and retailer representatives; and, interested groups such as the RSPCA and the Guide Dog for the Blind Association.

Fireworks

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether she was consulted about the statement made by a Department official to the Yorkshire Evening Post and published on 15 September 2003, concerning Regulations under the Fireworks Bill and the absence of limitations on the period of sale of fireworks; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 14 October 2003
	The statement made is fully in line with the Department's current thinking on the form that Fireworks Regulations may take.
	The question of limitations on periods of sale requires careful consideration given the culturally diverse celebrations involving the use of fireworks. The Department is still formulating Regulations with regard to specific sections of the Act and will be consulting widely.

Government Regulations

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research her Department has conducted on the average number of man hours each business spends on dealing with Government regulations.

Nigel Griffiths: The DTI has never conducted research on the number of 'man' hours devoted to this.

Industrial Participation Programmes(South Africa)

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many officials from her Department assisted in the negotiations with the (a) National Industrial Participation and (b) Defence Industrial Participation programmes with South Africa; what their role was in these negotiations; and what posts they held in her Department at the time of the negotiations.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 20 October 2003, Official Report, column 448W.

Late Payment

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 on reducing late payment; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: The Government continue to monitor the effectiveness of Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act, in partnership with the construction industry umbrella bodies. The Act provides clearer payment terms and a statutory right to adjudication in construction contracts to reduce late and non-payment and resolve payment disputes.
	The Government have supported the work of the Construction Umbrella Bodies Adjudication Task Group to produce guidance on the Adjudication process for users and adjudicators.

Miners' Compensation

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent on the coal health compensation schemes; and what percentage of the total has gone to (a) claimants, (b) solicitors and (c) other organisations.

Nigel Griffiths: To date, the total amount spent in respect of the respiratory disease and vibration white finger (VWF) schemes is £2.2 billion. 77 per cent. of the total spent has been paid as compensation to the claimants, 10 per cent. has been paid in solicitors' costs and 13 per cent. to contractors.
	
		Respiratory disease and vibration white finger
		
			 Percentage £ million 
		
		
			  
			  
			 77 1.694 
			 10 220 
			 13 286

Miners' Compensation

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many former miners have received a final settlement of less than £200 in compensation for (a) chronic bronchitis emphysema and (b) vibration white finger; and what the average fees paid (i) to solicitors and (ii) for medical examinations have been for processing these claims.

Nigel Griffiths: The figures are as follows:
	
		
			  COPD VWF 
		
		
			 Settlements of less than £200 3,162 10 
			 Average fee to solicitors £2,143 £465 
		
	
	Medical assessments: £865 Live respiratory including record collection and lung function testing.
	£571 deceased including record collection.
	Vibration white finger: £190 (Live only).

National Minimum Wage

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people will benefit from the latest rise in the national minimum wage in (a) the North West and (b) the UK.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Based on the Office for National Statistic's Low Pay data for 2002, the DTI estimates that between 180,000 and 220,000 people in the North West can expect to benefit from the increase in minimum wage rates in October 2003; DTI estimates that between 1.3 and 1.6 million people can expect to benefit in the UK as a whole.

Staff Numbers

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff the Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which the Department is responsible had in each year since 1997; and what the cost of those staff was in each of those years.

Patricia Hewitt: Data on staffing levels in the Civil Service is collected from departments and agencies twice-yearly, in April and-October. Headline figures are published under National Statistics guidelines via a press notice. Those for October 2002 were published on 27 February 2003.
	A copy of the press notice, accompanying media brief and supporting tables is available on the world wide web at www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics. Copies of these documents are also placed in the Libraries of House.
	More detailed information on the Civil Service is published annually in 'Civil Service Statistics', copies of which are laid in the Libraries of the House. The last edition, based on April 2002 data, was published on 24 July 2003.
	The Cabinet Office publishes information on non-departmental public bodies in its annual publication 'Public Bodies'. The information includes details of the number of staff employed by each NDPB at 31 March each year. 'Public Bodies 2002' was published in January 2003. Copies of 'Public Bodies' published each year since 1997 are available in the Libraries of House.
	Information on costs cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Unqualified Mechanics

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research her Department has conducted into the effect on the motor industry of the number of unqualified mechanics operating within it; and what plans she has to take steps to improve the situation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In 2002 the Department carried out a mystery shopping exercise into the car servicing and repair sector following a study of the sector carried out by the OFT in 2000. Both studies showed high consumer detriment and shortfalls in delivering acceptable levels of customer service.
	A number of DTI-led and joint DTI/DfES skills related initiatives are underway to reduce skills gaps and shortages for the automotive industry as a whole. Sector Skills Councils are being set up to achieve four key goals: reducing skills gaps and shortages; improving productivity, business and public service performance; increasing opportunities to boost the skills and productivity of everyone in the sector's workforce; and improving learning supply, including apprenticeships, HE and national occupational standards. For the automotive industry, SEMTA (for the science, engineering and manufacturing technologies sectors including automotive) and Automotive Skills Ltd. for the automotive retail, servicing and repair sectors will be looking to achieve these goals.
	One of the first tasks of these new bodies will be to undertake a detailed skills audit, which will bring into focus the issue of qualified mechanics within the industry.Linked with SEMTA will be the recently launched Automotive Academy, which will provide a comprehensive range of support to enhance process improvement activities in the automotive manufacturing sector. DTI has committed £15 million over 5 years to support the establishment of the Academy which will kitemark existing courses where these meet the needs of industry and will commission new material where necessary to fill gaps in provision.
	In addition to these initiatives the DTI and industry has developed a new Motor Code for which the main retail trade associations in the UK are seeking Office of Fair Trading approval. This focuses on customer service and provides an opportunity for the industry to show collective responsibility for enhancing its reputation with its customers.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Visitors Centre

Peter Luff: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will make a statement on the progress of plans for the establishment of a parliamentary visitors' centre.

Archy Kirkwood: Following two feasibility studies, and wide consultation in both Houses, the Commission is, with the authorities in the House of Lords, now looking at ways of taking forward the development of new visitor facilities.

Palace of Westminster Art Collection

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many works of art from the Palace of Westminster Collection are (a) on public display in the House, (b) on display in the House in areas to which the public do not have regular access, (c) on loan and (d) in storage.

Archy Kirkwood: The House of Commons Commission is responsible only for matters affecting this House. However, I understand that there are 6,708 works of art in the permanent collections of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, of which approximately 10 per cent. is in storage at any one time. One work is currently on loan from the House of Commons collection.
	There are 417 works of art on display on the route taken by visitor tours, in the committee rooms and committee corridor in the Palace, and in the committee rooms and surrounding areas in Portcullis House. These areas may be visited by unaccompanied members of the public or by members of the public on organised tours. Many works of art are on display in catering facilities or other areas to which the public may have access if accompanied by a passholder. If any member of the public wishes to view a specific work of art from either of the collections, efforts are made to arrange this.

Palace of Westminster Art Collection

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much has been spent by the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art on the acquisition of works of art in each year from 1997 to date; and how much has been realised through sales of works of art.

Archy Kirkwood: Expenditure from the House of Commons Administration Estimate since 1997 on acquisitions for the House of Commons collection is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 50,126.16 
			 1998–99 50,138.28 
			 1999–2000 49,792.62 
			 2000–01 50,001.65 
			 2001–02 50,000.00 
			 2002–03 86,697.91 
		
	
	Expenditure from the House of Commons Administration Estimate since 1997 for works of art for Portcullis House is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 3,778.05 
			 1998–99 18,500.00 
			 1999–2000 90,711.30 
			 2000–01 99,823.80 
			 2001–02 96,497.16 
			 2002–03 500.00 
		
	
	There have been no sales of works of art since 1997.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Pregnancy Discrimination

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister for Women what measures are in place to prevent pregnancy discrimination at work.

Patricia Hewitt: Discrimination on the ground of pregnancy or maternity is a form of direct discrimination on the ground of sex. The courts have interpreted the Sex Discrimination Act as meaning that discrimination on the ground that a woman is, or might become, pregnant is unlawful. This is reinforced by the amended Equal Treatment Directive published on 5 October 2002, which says that less favourable treatment on the grounds of pregnancy and maternity within the meaning of the Pregnant Workers Directive constitutes sex discrimination.
	In 1999, the Government introduced specific protections to prevent women from suffering detriment and from being unfairly dismissed or selected for redundancy for reasons connected with their pregnancy, childbirth or maternity leave. We have also ensured a women has a clear right to return to her job after maternity leave, on the same terms and conditions as if she had not been away.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Licensing Act

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate has been made of the additional cost to local authorities of implementing the Licensing Act 2003; and how much this will add to the average council tax bill.

Richard Caborn: There will be no additional cost to local authorities resulting from the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003. Fees will be set by the Secretary of State at a level that will allow the full recovery of all costs relating to their duties under the Act. There will therefore be no additional cost to council-tax payers as a result of the new regime.

HOME DEPARTMENT

OSIRIS II

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to carry out exercises similar to OSIRIS II in other cities.

David Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) on 16 October 2003, Official Report, column 314W.

Airguns

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with gun trade associations on the (a) sale and (b) criminal use of airguns; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 27 October 2003
	We have discussions with the gun trade associations on a range of issues. Most recently we have been discussing the problems which have arisen as a result of criminals converting air weapons which use the self-contained gas cartridge system to fire conventional ammunition. It was not possible to modify these guns to prevent conversion and we have therefore made provision in the current Anti-Social Behaviour Bill for future manufacture, importation, transfer or sale to be prohibited. Existing owners will be able to retain their guns provided they obtain a firearms certificate.

Car Insurance (Fines)

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times in each of the last 10 years the maximum fine for driving without insurance has been imposed by the courts; and in how many cases the fine was paid in full.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 21 October 2003
	Information collected centrally in the Home Office Court Proceedings Database shows that for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks, the maximum fine of £5,000 (Level 5) has been imposed in England and Wales on seven occasions from 1992 to 2001. Five times in 1996 and twice in 1997.
	An amendment to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, s.143 has now made using a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks a fixed penalty offence from 1 June 2003. Initially, offenders will be subjected to a £200 fixed penalty, which can be increased to a maximum fine of £5,000 if the matter goes to court. Information is not collected centrally on the amount of fines paid by the type of offence.

Correspondence

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Totnes of 14 October 2002, concerning Mr.David Copeland of Brixham; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 27 January 2003
	I replied to the hon. Member on 8 July 2003

Data Protection

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what redress is available to private citizens (a) whose private activities have been monitored and on (b) whom private data has been collected without their permission by individuals acting on behalf of corporate entities.

David Blunkett: Private individuals whose activities are monitored, or their personal data collected, without their consent by another private individual (whether acting alone or on behalf of a private enterprise) may seek assistance from the police if the conduct of that monitoring has involved, or is suspected of having involved, the commission of a criminal offence.
	Where personal data has been, or is suspected of having been, processed contrary to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998, any directly affected person may ask the Information Commissioner to make an assessment. It is open to the Commissioner to take enforcement action if he concludes that the Act has been breached and for individuals to claim compensation through the Courts if damage has been caused as a result of any breach of the Act.
	Where the monitoring has been undertaken by a broadcast organisation the individual may seek redress from the Broadcasting Standards Commission or from the Press Complaints Commission where a member of the press has undertaken the monitoring.

Domestic Violence

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what nationally accredited programmes are available in prison to address issues related to domestic violence.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The Prison Service has developed a programme for domestic violence offenders, which it has been piloting in two establishments, and which was accredited by the Correctional Services Accreditation Panel in October 2003.

Drug-related Offences

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been imprisoned in each of the last 15 years for offences related to (a) dealing in cannabis and (b) using cannabis; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The table shows the number of people sentenced to custody in England and Wales for drugs offences involving cannabis, from 1993 to 2001. Before 1993 offences relating to cannabis were not separately identified.
	
		Number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for drug offences involving cannabis(2),(3) -- England and Wales 1993 to 2001
		
			 Offence description Statute 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 
		
		
			 Supplying or offering (or being concerned in) to supply a controlled drug (cannabis) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Sec 4(3) 315 362 457 628 650 
			
			 Having possession of a controlled drug (cannabis) with intent to supply Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Sec 5(3) 516 678 925 983 1,129 
			
			 Production or being concerned in production of a controlled drug (cannabis) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Secs 4(2), 6(2) 20 66 125 178 233 
			
			 Having possession of a controlled drug (cannabis) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Sec 5(2), as amended by Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994, Sec 157, Sch 8, part II 155 167 194 204 268 
			
			 Permitting premises to be used for unlawful purposes (cannabis) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Sec 8 9 7 21 17 18 
			
			  Total 1,015 1,280 1,722 2,010 2,298 
		
	
	
		
			 Offence description Statute 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Supplying or offering (or being concerned in) to supply a controlled drug (cannabis) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Sec 4(3) 656 573 405 265 
			   
			 Having possession of a controlled drug (cannabis) with intent to supply Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Sec 5(3) 1,284 1,112 808 618 
			   
			 Production or being concerned in production of a controlled drug (cannabis) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Secs 4(2), 6(2) 216 206 156 126 
			   
			 Having possession of a controlled drug (cannabis) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Sec 5(2), as amended by Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994, Sec 157, Sch 8, part II 410 451 361 290 
			   
			 Permitting premises to be used for unlawful purposes (cannabis) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Sec 8 27 25 9 10 
			   
			  Total 2,593 2,367 1,739 1,309 
		
	
	(2) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(3) This relates to drug offences where cannabis can be separately identified.

Drug-related Offences

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests of cannabis users were made in each of the last 15 years; what he estimates the cost to police resources was of making these arrests; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The data available centrally on arrests for drug offences do not give details of the type of drug for which an individual was arrested, so information on the number of arrests for cannabis offences, together with costs, is not currently available.
	We do have data on the number of persons dealt with for possession of cannabis. This is the closest approximation to the number of arrests. The figures appear in the table.
	The figures are taken from the annual Home Office Statistical Bulletin. They are available on the RDS website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb402.pdf and in the Library.
	
		Persons found guilty, cautioned, given a fiscal fine or dealt with by compounding for possession of cannabis by year, 1986 to 2000.
		
			  Number 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1986 16,640 
			 1987 18,800 
			 1988 23,230 
			 1989 30,030 
			 1990 36,090 
			 1991 38,460 
			 1992 37,440 
			 1993 50,710 
			 1994 65,100 
			 1995 68,600 
			 1996 65,100 
			 1997 79,090 
			 1998 91,150 
			 1999 82,130 
			 2000 70,310 
		
	
	Source:
	Home Office Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom—Supplementary Tables and Findings 202

Gun Crime

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to tackle gun crime.

Caroline Flint: The Government are taking a wide range of action to tackle gun crime.
	This includes:
	Proposing a mandatory, minimum five-year sentence for those convicted, on indictment, of possessing prohibited firearms;
	Proposing to ban the carrying of replicas or air weapons in a public place without reasonable excuse;
	Proposing to raise the age limit for owning an air weapon from 14 to 17 and restricting their use without adult supervision as 77 per cent. of airgun crimes are criminal damage;
	Proposing a ban on the sale, manufacture and import of tandem air cartridge systems, and the licensing of those already held as they can be readily converted into lethal firearms;
	Publishing a new strategy for witnesses to increase the numbers of people who come forward when they witness a crime;
	The national firearms amnesty, held during April, in which over 43,000 weapons and 1 million rounds of ammunition were handed in.
	Legislation and law enforcement alone cannot solve the problem and it is vital that community groups, local authorities and those involved in service provision, including education, engage with us in taking action to deal with this problem. Community groups have therefore been involved in the two national meetings my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has chaired, with a third meeting due to be held on 25 November. We are planning a community engagement event in January, to bring together community activists, representatives of voluntary organisation, law enforcement and policy officials to take forward this dialogue and support community involvement in tackling gun crime. The Government have also made available £1.5 million of recorded assets receipts to support community involvement.
	We are also working with the Disarm Trust which will support the victims of, and communities working against gun crime.
	The police have established dedicated teams, such as Operation Trident in London and Operation Stealth in Nottingham, working against particular groups of criminals involved in armed violence. Many of these Operations have forged good links with the communities they serve by establishing Independent Advisory Groups, made up of members of the local community.

Home Detention Curfews

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners released on home detention curfew in the last 12 months have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for breaching the conditions of their licence, broken down by each police force area in England and Wales; and how many of those who were convicted received a custodial sentence.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The table shows the number of people recalled from home detention curfew, by reason for recall, in the 12-month period January 2002 to December 2002. This information is not available by police force area.
	
		Recalls from home detention curfew: January to December 2002
		
			  Number 
		
		
			  Cases not involving new charges—total1,247 
			 Breach of (HDC) conditions 795 
			 Installation failure 2 
			 Monitoring failure 9 
			 Change of circumstances 383 
			 Risk of serious harm 1 
			 Breach of non-HDC licence conditions 57 
			  Cases involving new charges—total231 
			 Breach of HDC conditions 1 
			 Inability to monitor 1 
			 Risk of serious harm 0 
			 Charge with a new offence 229 
			   
			 Total 1,478

Home Detention Curfews

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders sentenced to a curfew order in the last 12 months have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for breaching the conditions of the order, broken down by each police force area in England and Wales; and how many of those who were convicted received a custodial sentence.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The attached table gives the number of persons who were proceeded against at magistrates' courts, found guilty and sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for breach of a curfew order (with or without electronic monitoring), for each police force area in England and Wales 2001.
	
		Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts, found guilty at all courts and sentenced to immediate custody for breach of a curfew order, by police force area, England and Wales 2001
		
			 Police Force Area Persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts Persons found guilty(4) at all courts Of which: Sentenced to immediate custody 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Avon and Somerset 48 50 11 
			 Bedfordshire — 3 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 5 6 2 
			 Cheshire 13 10 3 
			 Cleveland 5 6 4 
			 Cumbria 5 5 2 
			 Derbyshire 16 16 6 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3 5 1 
			 Dorset 2 2 — 
			 Durham — — — 
			 Essex 1 1 1 
			 Gloucestershire 1 1 1 
			 Greater Manchester 207 208 43 
			 Hampshire 11 11 4 
			 Hertfordshire 9 9 3 
			 Humberside 7 8 2 
			 Kent 10 10 1 
			 Lancashire 21 21 4 
			 Leicestershire 14 14 — 
			 Lincolnshire — — — 
			 Merseyside 2 2 — 
			 Metropolitan Police 81 84 17 
			 Norfolk 89 92 21 
			 Northamptonshire 4 4 1 
			 Northumbria 5 5 3 
			 North Yorkshire 1 1 — 
			 Nottinghamshire 6 6 — 
			 South Yorkshire 24 25 4 
			 Staffordshire 7 8 6 
			 Suffolk — — — 
			 Surrey 2 2 — 
			 Sussex 1 2 1 
			 Thames Valley 32 32 8 
			 Warwickshire 3 3 2 
			 West Mercia — 1 1 
			 West Midlands 19 19 7 
			 West Yorkshire 38 41 11 
			 Wiltshire 9 9 1 
			 Dyfed Powys — — — 
			 Gwent — — — 
			 North Wales 21 21 6 
			 South Wales 14 18 7 
			 
			 England and Wales 736 761 185 
		
	
	(4) Number of persons found guilty may exceed number proceeded against because magistrates' court proceedings for breaches dealt with at the Crown Court are not collected centrally and are not therefore included in the figures of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts.

Inquests

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inquests due to be held have been outstanding for over five years; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 27 October 2003
	This information is not held centrally.

Inquests

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it a requirement on coroners to conduct inquests required of them within two years of a person's death.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 27 October 2003
	No. While we encourage coroners to hold inquests as quickly as possible, there will always be some circumstances where it may not be sensible for the inquest to be held within a prescribed period, for example where other relevant legal proceedings are outstanding.

Prisoners (Revocation of Licence)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were returned to custody owing to a revocation of licence in the last year for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The number of prisoners returned to custody due to a revocation of licence for the period 1 April 2002 to 30 March 2003 was 7,849.

Terrorism

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike) of 15 October 2003, Official Report, column 260W, on terrorism, when section 44 powers were first used in London; on how many occasions and on what dates the powers have been confirmed since the Terrorism Act 2000 came into force; and whether the use of section 44 powers relates to specific areas of London or to the whole of the Metropolitan police area.

David Blunkett: The Metropolitan police and City of London have authorised the use of stop and search powers under the Terrorism Act since it came into force on 19 February 2001. The powers have been authorised in respect of the whole of each force area since that time in accordance with the statutory procedures.
	The decision to authorise use of the powers is made against the background of the current threat level and the assessment of the risk to any designated or whole force area. Authorisations are only confirmed on a monthly basis if the Secretary of State is satisfied that their use is necessary to prevent acts of terrorism.

Young Offenders (North Wales)

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what secure accommodation provision is in place for young offenders from North Wales.

Paul Goggins: In general, young people from North Wales who have been placed in custody by the courts are accommodated in secure facilities in North West England, although they may sometimes be placed elsewhere depending on the availability of places and other factors.
	Young Offenders from North Wales aged 18–20 are normally allocated to the following Young Offender Institutions: Stoke Heath in Shropshire (sentenced males), Altcourse in Merseyside (remanded males), and Styal in Cheshire (sentenced and remanded females).
	Responsibility for the commissioning and purchasing of all secure accommodation for juvenile offenders (i.e. for those below the age of 18), and for the placement of juveniles sentenced to a detention and training order, rests with the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. The Board's policy in relation to the placement of juvenile offenders from North Wales is as follows:
	Remanded and sentenced males aged 15 to 17 will normally be placed in Stoke Heath Young Offender's Institute or, if this establishment is full, in Werrington Young Offender's Institute (Stoke-on-Trent) or Hindley Young Offender's Institute (Wigan). Thorn Cross Young Offender's Institute, an open establishment near Warrington, is also available, subject to a proper risk assessment of the individual.
	Males below the age of 15 or those assessed as vulnerable will normally be placed in one of two Secure Training Centres, Rainsbrook in Warwickshire or Hassockfield in Durham, or in a local authority secure community home. The closest of these to North Wales are Barton Moss (Greater Manchester), Dales House (Lancashire), Dyson Hall (Merseyside), Red Bank (Merseyside), Redsands (Cheshire) and Hillside (West Glamorgan).
	Females aged 17 are normally placed in New Hall Young Offender's Institute, near Wakefield. Those aged under 17 are normally placed in either Rainsbrook or Hassockfield Secure Training Centre or one of the local authority secure community homes that accommodate females. Those nearest to North Wales are St. Catherines (Merseyside), Redsands and Hillside.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bribery

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many allegations of bribery of a foreign public official have been received from diplomatic posts overseas since 14 February 2002.

Denis MacShane: Reports on bribery and corruption overseas are received from time-to-time from diplomatic posts and after validation these are passed on to the appropriate authorities in the UK. Four such reports, specifically related to guidance on the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, have been received since 14 February 2002.

British Missions (USA)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many locally-engaged staff working in British missions in the United States pay cuts have been imposed; what the largest percentage pay cut is; what the average cut is; and what negotiations have taken place on the matter.

Denis MacShane: No pay cuts have been imposed.

Burundi

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the peace accord signed in October 2003 by the President of Burundi and Pierre Nkurunziza of the Forces for the Defence of Democracy; what assessment has been made of the viability of the accord; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The UK welcomes the signing of the Pretoria protocol on 8 October between the Force pour la Defense de la Democratic (FDD) (Nkurunziza) and the Government of Burundi. This is a positive step towards implementation of the 2 December 2002 ceasefire agreement between the two parties. Further talks to resolve outstanding issues including an implementation timetable, immunity, army integration and registering the FDD as a political party, are due to take place soon. The UK is working with the Government of Burundi and our international partners to ensure momentum is not lost.

Burundi

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he, (b) members of his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with the (i) Government of Rwanda, (ii) Government of Tanzania, (iii) Government of Uganda, (iv) Government of France, (v) governments of other European Union member states, (vi) governments of EU candidate countries and (vii) Government of the United States of America concerning the (A) security situation in and (B) political stability of Burundi; what issues were raised; what actions were agreed on during these meetings; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The UK remains active in the Burundi peace process in a range of international fora. The UK maintains a dialogue on Burundi with our EU partners, the Regional Initiative chaired by Ugandan President Museveni, the South African led Facilitation and our key international partners in Burundi.
	Key issues of concern include bringing the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL) into the peace negotiations, ensuring the Forces pour la Defense de la Democratic (FDD) and the Government of Burundi honour their ceasefire commitments, supporting the AU peacekeeping force (AMIB), laying the foundations for a sustainable democracy and providing vital humanitarian assistance.

Burundi

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he, (b) members of his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with (i) representatives of the United Nations, (ii) representatives of the European Commission, (iii) representatives of African multilateral organisations and (iv) European and African non-governmental organisations concerning the human rights situation in Burundi; what issues were highlighted during these discussions; what concerns were voiced; what action was (A) formulated and (B) implemented directly addressing those issues and concerns; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The UK is in contact with a range of partners on the human rights situation in Burundi including the EU, AU and UN. The UK also maintains a dialogue with national and international human rights NGOs. We are concerned at the impact of the war on the human rights of the civilian population, particularly women and children. The UK is actively working with our international partners in promoting peace in Burundi as the key to protecting their human rights.

Burundi

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Forces for the National Liberation's absence from the peace talks leading up to the October peace accord in Burundi on the long-term viability of the peace accord; what discussions (a) he, (b) members of his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with the Government of Burundi on the inclusion of the Forces for National Liberation in the peace process; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: An all-inclusive cease-fire in Burundi is vital for the long-term stability of Burundi. UK officials remain in regular contact with the Government of Burundi on the need to engage the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL) in peace negotiations. Most recently, our Ambassador in Kigali raised this issue on 23–24 October with the President and Foreign Minister of Burundi.

Burundi

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the internal conflict in Burundi on the (a) security and (b) stability of border regions in (i) Tanzania, (ii) Rwanda and (iii) the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The 10-year civil war has had a destabilising effect on neighbouring countries. There are nearly 500,000 Burundi refugees in Tanzania. Some Burundi rebel forces remain in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
	The UK is committed to supporting implementation of the Arusha agreement of 2000 and the transitional government institutions in Burundi as an integral part of achieving security and stability in the Great Lakes Region.

Burundi

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the developments in the security situation in (a) Burundi and (b) Rwanda since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: We continually monitor the security situation in Rwanda and Burundi. The Government of Rwanda has made a concerted effort to bring security to the country. In this they have been broadly successful. However, the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi make the border areas potentially dangerous. The security situation in Burundi is unstable. But, there has been a positive development recently in Burundi with the signing of the Pretoria Protocol on 8 October on power sharing between the Force pour la Defence de la Democratie (FDD) (Nkurunziza) and the government of Burundi. Only the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL) (Rwasa) lies outside the peace process.

Convention on the Future of Europe

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Secretary of State has had about the impact on UK constitutional arrangements of the work of the Convention on the Future of Europe.

Denis MacShane: The Government believes that there is a strong case for a single, coherent constitution for the European Union. In effect, the existing treaties already make up a constitutional structure. However, they are overly complex and unclear. For this reason, the Government supports redrafting, restructuring and consolidating the treaties.
	The draft Constitution as it stands is not perfect. It contains points which we want to examine in more detail. And we could only accept a final text that made it clear that issues like tax, defence and foreign policy remained the province of the nation State. Provided there is clarity on these points, the reforms proposed by the Convention should be welcomed. They do not alter the fundamental constitutional relationship between the UK and the Union.
	The Government published in September Command Paper 5934, setting out its views on the draft Treaty prepared by the Convention, and its implications. This followed detailed discussion and consideration of the draft, both within Government and, for example, in Parliament itself. Members of Parliament took part in the Convention, and committees of Parliament have issued so far this year over a dozen reports on the Convention text.

Cyprus

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 16 October 2003, Official Report, column 336W, on Cyprus, what concerns over the Cyprus settlement negotiations were raised during the most recent EU Working Group on south-east Europe; what decisions were taken to address these concerns; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: Member states agreed at the 8 October Working Group that the EU should continue to do all in its power to bring about the conditions necessary for a resumption of talks on the basis of the UN Secretary-General's comprehensive proposals. We continue to share the Secretary-General's judgment about what those conditions are, including the clear demonstration of sufficient political commitment by the parties concerned. The EU has already made a key contribution to the settlement process by signalling its willingness to accommodate the terms of a Cyprus settlement arrived at under UN auspices.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports (a) he, (b) his Department and (c) representatives of the United Kingdom Government have received of incursions of Rwandan troops into the Democratic Republic of the Congo; what discussions he has had with representatives of the Government of Rwanda concerning these reports; what assurances were (i) requested and (ii) offered during these discussions; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: We are aware of continuing reports of incursions of Rwandan troops into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These reports have been investigated by the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) and found to be unsubstantiated. We discuss such reports with the Government of Rwanda, at both Ministerial and official level. They have assured us their armed forces withdrew from DRC in October 2002, as provided for in the Pretoria Agreement of 30 July 2002, and have not re-entered.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports (a) he, (b) his Department and (c) representatives of the United Kingdom Government have received on the regrouping of Interahamwe militia groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; what assessment his Department has made of the impact on security in the region; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: We are aware of reports that Interahamwe militia and ex-Forces Armees Rwandaises (ex-FAR/I) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are regrouping. While these reports are difficult to verify, the ex-FAR/I pose a real threat to the security of Rwanda and the stability of the region as a whole. Their disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRRR) is crucial to long-term stability. The UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) is mandated to undertake voluntary demobilisation of the ex-FAR/I and other foreign armed groups in DRC and we fully support their efforts. We are encouraged by the recent statement of the Transitional National Government (TNG) in Kinshasa, that the TNG would no longer tolerate the presence on its national territory of the ex-FAR/I. The recent visit to Kinshasa by a high-level Rwandan delegation to discuss how the two countries can work together to help resolve this problem is a further positive sign.

EU External Action Service

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what budget, and how many staff, are planned for the EU External Action Service, as defined in the Declaration attached to the Draft Constitution.

Denis MacShane: The Inter Governmental Conference has not yet discussed the issue of the proposed European External Action Service. Firm decisions on the budget and staff numbers will depend on the outcome of the Inter Governmental Conference.

EU External Action Service

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution in (a) money and (b) personnel the UK plans to make to the European External Action Service under the Declaration to the Draft EU Constitution.

Denis MacShane: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to him today (UIN 134310). The United Kingdom contribution to the European External Action Service will depend on the decisions taken on the service's budget and staff.

EU Working Group on South East Europe

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the EU Working Group on South East Europe last met; where it met; what issues were on the agenda; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The Working Group last met in Brussels on 8 October. Topics discussed included the state of the Cyprus settlement process, political developments in the north of Cyprus, the EU's trade and aid package for the north of Cyprus, education for Greek Cypriots in the north of Cyprus, Turkey's internal situation, Turkey's EU accession course and the Loizidou case.
	The Government are determined to do all they can to achieve peace, prosperity and security in south-east Europe. We believe that a Cyprus settlement on the basis of the Annan plan and Turkey's fulfilment of the requirements for EU membership, followed by Turkish accession to the EU, are fundamental to that goal.

European Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 16 October 2003, Official Report, column 332W, on European Agencies, which other countries have bid for the location of European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA); and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: Four other countries have bid to host the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA): Portugal, Greece, Italy and France. No agreement on the location of the EMSA is yet in sight.

Iraq

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long the search in Iraq for weapons of mass destruction will continue.

Denis MacShane: No time limit has been set for completion of the search. It will continue for as long as it is necessary to satisfy ourselves that no weapons or associated programmes remain in Iraq.

Iraq

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made by the Consular Assistance Group in recovering a constituent, Mr. Raeid Jewad's, camcorder that was confiscated by US soldiers in Iraq; and what progress has been made to secure Mr. Jewad compensation for the loss of his possession.

Chris Mullin: We have made inquiries with US military authorities. They have assured us that they are looking into the matter. We shall continue to press them for a formal response.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British personnel are part of the Iraq Survey Group (ISG); who commissioned the ISG report; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: As at 20 October there were 65 UK personnel under the control of the Iraq Survey Group. The Iraq Survey Group's interim report presented on 2 October was produced on the basis of an understanding by Dr. Kay that a progress report should be produced. There is no formal requirement on the ISG to report according to a particular timetable.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department has received the full version of the Iraq Survey Group report; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: A full copy of the interim report of the Iraq Survey Group was passed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at the time of its presentation.
	My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and I have both publicly stated the Government's position with regard to the report and the continuing search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Malaysian Prime Minister

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the speech by the Malaysian Prime Minister at the opening of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference Summit in Kuala Lumpur on 16 October; what discussions (a) he (b) members of his Department and (c) representatives of the United Kingdom Government have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the government of Malaysia regarding this speech; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: Dr. Mahathir's comments about Jews in his speech to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference Summit on 16 October were totally unacceptable. I summoned the Malaysian high commissioner on 17 October, and made our position clear. I said it was particularly regrettable that some welcome messages in Dr. Mahathir's speech—such as negotiation as the path to peace, and the futility of terrorism—had been overshadowed by his outburst about Jews.
	On 20 October the British high commissioner in Kuala Lumpur repeated our position to the Secretary General of the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Secretary General argued that Dr. Mahathir had made clear repeatedly that he was not anti-Semitic, and that the speech showed his unequivocal opposition to terrorism and the use of violence in Palestine, including suicide bombings.
	The EU Presidency issued a statement on 16 October condemning Dr. Mahathir's remarks on behalf of all member states.

Pamplona Bull Run

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Spanish Government in respect of the welfare implications of the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

Denis MacShane: The Government takes seriously reports of cruelty to animals. Where appropriate, our Embassies overseas, including our Embassy in Madrid, bring such issues to the attention of the government concerned, and encourages them to adopt acceptable standards of animal welfare. They also convey the strength of public opposition in the UK to the exploitation of animals overseas.

Passport Renewal (Harare)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost is for renewal of a British passport at the British High Commission in Harare; and what the cost was on (a) 1 January 1997, (b) 1 January 2000 and (c) 1 January 2003.

Chris Mullin: The fee charged by any British Diplomatic Mission to issue a standard adult passport is currently £56.50. The fee has previously been set at:
	(a) 1 January 1997—£18.00
	(b) 1 January 2000—£49.00
	(c) 1 January 2003—£54.40
	The fee recovered would have been the local currency equivalent of the above sterling amounts.

Proliferation Security Initiative Group

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) matters were discussed, and (b) decisions were taken, at the meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative Group of States in early October; what resources are committed in support of this initiative; when future meetings will be held; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The Chairman's conclusions from the meeting were published on 10 October, and can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at www.fco.gov.uk/internationalsecurity. I refer my hon. Friend also to the written statement that I made to this House on 22 October.
	For the present, work on the initiative is being funded from within existing resources. Any decisions regarding the commitment of additional resources to the initiative will be taken on a case-by-case basis dependent upon future operational requirements. The next meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative will be held in Portugal early in 2004.

Rebel Groups (Kenya)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the progress of the discussions between the Sudanese Government and rebel groups in the Kenyan town of Naivasha; what assessment he has made of the likelihood of significant progress in 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: We are optimistic about the prospects for peace between the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). We assess that there is a good chance of agreement this year or early next year. The latest round of talks adjourned on 26 October for the month of Ramadan. There are outstanding problems which need to be resolved, on power and wealth sharing, the three conflict areas (of Southern Blue Nile, the Nuba Mountains and Abyei) and ceasefire and security issues. Discussion of these issues is expected to resume on 1 December. We are confident that, with the continued commitment of both parties, there will be no barriers to signing a peace deal. On 25 September, the parties signed a Framework Agreement on Security Arrangements during the Interim Period.
	We continue to offer the parties and mediators our full support and advice and remain actively involved in helping them reach a comprehensive peace agreement.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Access to Work Programme

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people with disabilities enrolled in the Access to Work Programme in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Jane Kennedy: The number of people with disabilities on the Access to Work programme in each of the last three years is as follows:
	2000–01—495
	2001–02—540
	2002–03—620

Energy Industry

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2003, Official Report, column 957W, on the energy industry, what mechanisms for reducing energy costs in Northern Ireland are planned to enable a more efficient means of financing energy assets and contracts; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: A working group of economists is examining a range of mechanisms, including a legislative low cost borrowing option, for reducing energy costs in Northern Ireland and is due to report shortly. The outcomes of discussions on the consultation papers Competition and Customer Empowerment published by the Regulator on 4 March 2003 and Towards a New Energy Strategy for Northern Ireland, published by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment on 17 April 2003, will also shape future announcements in this area.

Energy Industry

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what targets he has set for the working group set up to examine practical options for reducing energy costs in Northern Ireland; when the working group is due to report; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to PQ Written No 122807. No targets have been set for the working group which is expected to report shortly.

Energy Industry

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Government will make a decision on the introduction of legislation to reduce the cost of borrowing in the Northern Ireland energy market sector; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to PQ Written No 122807. A legislative low cost borrowing mechanism is one of the options being examined by the working group of economists which will report to me shortly.

Saville Inquiry

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the costs of the Saville Inquiry, broken down by the cost of (a) instructing solicitors, (b) instructing counsel, (c) inquiry accommodation, (d) travel and accommodation for (i) relatives of the victims and (ii) other witnesses and (e) other costs.

John Spellar: Up to end August 2003 the cost of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry was 119.7 million. The cash spend by the Northern Ireland Office on the Inquiry was a total of 94.6 million. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence advises me that his Department has spent 25.1 million. Breaking these down in the categories requested gives the following figures:
	
		000
		
			  NIO MOD 
		
		
			 (a) Instructing Solicitors 24,160 7,300 
			 (b) Instructing counsel 15,630 15,400 
			 (c) Inquiry Accommodation 13,517 330 
			 (d) Travel and Accommodation for   
			 (i) relatives of the victims 467  
			 (ii) other witnesses 32 44 
			 (e) Other costs (5)40,801 (6)2,100 
		
	
	(5) Figure includes salary costs of Tribunal members (except Lord Saville) and Inquiry staff, IT equipment, expert witnesses, office services and security, telecommunications and other miscellaneous office expenditure.
	(6) For the MOD the figure includes Inquiry related staff and support costs, an MOD Police Investigation and other miscellaneous fees and expenses.
	Totals may not be exact due to rounding.

Vocational Courses

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many further education students enrolled in vocational courses in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: The following table provides information relating to vocational enrolments in Northern Ireland Further Education Colleges from 1998/99 to 2001/02. The data details all enrolments on vocational courses at levels of study 15, over the entire academic year. Full year data has only been collected since 1998/99, and 2001/02 is the most recent year for which this information is available.
	
		
			  Enrolments 
		
		
			 2001/02 121,930 
			 2000/01 130,744 
			 1999/2000 124,219 
			 1998/99 117,376 
		
	
	Note:The drop in enrolments for 2001/02 can be attributed to: (i) the reduction in the number of Further Education Colleges from 17 to 16 (following the merger of NIHCC with the University of Ulster) and (ii) changes regarding the re-alignment of vocational/non-vocational computing courses.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Executive Agencies

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the executive agencies that have been established by his Department since 1997; and how much has been spent on (a) staffing and (b) resourcing these agencies.

Charles Clarke: None.

Fairtrade Products

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will take steps to encourage more schools to establish Fairtrade tuckshops; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he will take to encourage the use of Fairtrade products in school meals.

Stephen Twigg: Nutritional standards prescribe the types of food that should be available from the four main food groups, but the content of the school meal and what is sold in tuck shops is decided by the LEA or the governing body of a school. However, in the Sustainable Development Action Plan that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched on 23 September, we have made clear the importance we attach to all forms of sustainable food procurement, including fair trade products, and are committed to disseminating good practice.

Homebuy Scheme

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether eligibility for Key Teacher Homebuy loans will be affected by total family income.

David Miliband: The package of assistance announced by the Secretary of State on 21 October is designed to help retain good teachers within London with the potential to rise to leadership positions within the profession, by enabling them to purchase the types of homes that suit their needs but which may have been beyond their means until now. Although we are still in the process of finalising full details, it is very likely that teachers will only be eligible if their total family income is below a certain level.

Homebuy Scheme

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Key Teacher Homebuy scheme will be available to teachers in all subjects.

David Miliband: The package of assistance announced by the Secretary of State on 21 October is designed to help retain good teachers within London with the potential to rise to leadership positions within the profession, by enabling them to purchase the types of homes that suit their needs but which may have been beyond their means until now. Although we are still in the process of finalising full details, it is very likely that teachers in any subject will be eligible to apply.

Homebuy Scheme

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether Key Teacher Homebuy loans will be repayable in the event of teachers (a) taking a sabbatical, (b) taking a period of secondment and (c) moving to employment in (i) an independent school and (ii) an academy in London.

David Miliband: The package of assistance announced by the Secretary of State on 21 October is designed to help retain good teachers within London with the potential to rise to leadership positions within the profession, by enabling them to purchase the types of homes that suit their needs but which may have been beyond their means until now. Eligible teachers will be required to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to working within maintained sector schools (as well as Academies) within London. However, in the case of sabbaticals, secondments and work in the independent sector, periods of up to two years will be permitted before loans become repayable.

Homebuy Scheme

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether teachers will have to repay equity loans under the Key Teacher Homebuy scheme (a) on retirement, (b) on retiring on grounds of ill-health and (c) when made redundant.

David Miliband: The package of assistance announced by the Secretary of State on 21 October is designed to help retain good teachers within London with the potential to rise to leadership positions within the profession, by enabling them to purchase the types of homes that suit their needs but which may have been beyond their means until now. Although details are still to be finalised, we would normally only expect loans to be repaid when a property is sold or if a teacher is no longing teaching in London for more than two years, or if a teacher wishes to own the property outright and chooses to repay the loan.

Homebuy Scheme

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria he will use to assess a teacher's suitability for an equity loan under his Department's Key Teacher Homebuy Scheme.

David Miliband: The package of assistance announced by the Secretary of State on 21 October is designed to help retain good teachers within London with the potential to rise to leadership positions within the profession, by enabling them to purchase the types of homes that suit their needs but which may have been beyond their means until now. We are currently working with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to develop a system that will enable us to be able to identify and prioritise those teachers who might be eligible. We expect to be able to publicise this information before the end of the year.

Modern Apprenticeships

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to encourage the creation of modern apprenticeships in the photographic sector; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Government are firmly committed to their Modern Apprenticeships (MA) programme across all sectors, including the photographic sector in England. We have demonstrated that by first commissioning and then, jointly with the Learning and Skills Council, implementing the recommendations of the Modern Apprenticeship Advisory Committee. Photography featured in the Modern Apprenticeships TV advertisements last year aimed at young people. Under Sir Roy Gardner a business-led Modern Apprenticeship Task Force is taking a key role in promoting MA to employers and thereby contributing to increased take-up. In doing so we are able to raise both the quality and expand the number of opportunities available. This action supports the Government's broader aims announced in our Skills Strategy White Paper 21st Century Skills published recently.
	The Learning and Skills Council in England determines the allocation of MA places for each sector based on local labour market needs. It is working closely with the Connexions Service, the new Sector Skills Councils (SSC) and others to increase demand for places from both young people and employers. While the number of MAs in the photographic industry is currently small, it is planned that Skillset the Trailblazer SSC for the Audio Visual Industries will shortly include Photo-Imaging, offering an exciting opportunity to further develop effective training for the sector. The number of MAs in learning are at the highest level since they were introduced in 1994at 234,100. Over 750,000 have started since 1997.

Modern Apprenticeships

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many young people in (a) Birkenhead and (b) Wirral have entered (i) an advanced modern apprenticeship and (ii) a foundation modern apprenticeship since the schemes' inception.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available for the areas requested by my right hon. Friend. However, information is available for old Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) areas and new Learning and Skills Council (LSC) areas. The table below shows the number of starts on modern apprenticeships in Greater Merseyside Learning and Skills Council (LSC) between the 26 March 2001 and the end of July 2003, as well as the number of starts from the inception of the programmes until 25 March 2001 in the four TEC areas that became part of Greater Merseyside LSC area.
	
		
			 Time period TEC/LSC Advanced MA Foundation MA 
		
		
			 Inception to March 01 CEWTEC(7) 5,500 2,500 
			  Merseyside 11,900 8,800 
			  St. Helens CCTE 1 ,800 1,000 
			  North  Mid Cheshire(7) 5,300 1,636 
			 March 01 to July 03 Greater Merseyside LSC 4,600 11,000 
		
	
	(7) Some of the old TEC area became part of Greater Merseyside LSC, but some of the old TEC area also became part of Cheshire and Warrington LSC.

Parliamentary Questions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  when he will reply to the question tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 8 September, reference 129229;
	(2)  when he will reply to the question tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 8 September, reference 129168;
	(3)  when he will reply to the question tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 8 September, reference 129169.

Margaret Hodge: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given on 20 October.

School Budgets (Lincolnshire)

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the schools in (a) North Lincolnshire and (b) North East Lincolnshire which ran a deficit budget in the year ending 31 March; and how much each deficit was.

David Miliband: Information on those schools with deficits in the financial year 200203 will be contained in the outturn statement which all local education authorities are required to publish under section 52 of the School Standards Framework Act 1998. Figures for the year ending 31 March 2003 are not yet available for North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire: I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as they are.

School Exclusions

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) temporary and (b) permanent exclusions were made by (i) primary, (ii) secondary schools and (iii) all schools in each year since 1997, broken down by local education authority.

Ivan Lewis: Information on fixed term exclusions is not yet available centrally. The Department has recently started to collect information from local education authorities on both fixed term and permanent exclusions on a termly basis. However, reliable findings from this data collection exercise are not expected to be available until next year.
	A table showing information requested on permanent exclusions has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

School Setting (West Sussex)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his Answer of 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 1142W, on school setting, what percentage of maintained schools in West Sussex LEA inspected by Ofsted between 1995 and 2002 in (a) year 7, (b) year 8, (c) year 9, (d) year 10 and (e) year 11 were recorded as set by ability in (i) maths, (ii) English, (iii) science and (iv) modern foreign languages.

David Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.

School Funding

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Kent schools have made recent representations to him about school funding; and what response he has made.

David Miliband: We have received a number of recent representations from Kent schools about education funding issues. In response, we have referred to the Secretary of State's statement on 17 July when he announced the changes we propose to make to restore stability to school funding in 200405 and 200506. We have been working with national partners on the detail of his proposals and the Secretary of State will be announcing the outcome shortly.

School Funding

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the salary costs for each local education authority of (a) all staff, (b) all school staff, (c) school teaching staff and (d) school non-teaching staff were in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to his previous question on 30 April 2003, Official Report, column 419W, for the reply. Figures for the year ending 31 March 2003 are not yet available: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as they are.

School Funding

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what further measures he proposes to take to protect school budgets from the effects of the changes to the grant formula.

David Miliband: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced, in his statement to the House on 17 July, that in each of the next two years, every local authority will receive an increase in its Formula Grant from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister which is at least as large as the increase in its Schools Formula Spending Share (SPSS). He expects to make a further announcement on schools funding in 200405 and 200506 shortly.
	Each local authority's provisional Formula Grant and SPSS increases for 200405 will be announced as part of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement in mid-November.

Standard Attainment Tests

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will publish the findings of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority investigation into the Standard Attainment Test at 7, 11 and 14 submitted to the QCA in January 2002.

Stephen Twigg: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) will make the report available before the end of the year and I have asked the Chief Executive of the QCA to write to the hon. Member about this matter.

Student Loans

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the income starting point for repayment of student loans by new graduates was in each of the last 10 calendar years.

Alan Johnson: There are two types of student loan. Borrowers who started their courses before the 1998/99 Academic Year are liable to repay fixed-term (mortgage-style) loans. Income contingent loans apply to the vast majority of borrowers who entered higher education from the 1998/99 Academic Year.
	Under the mortgage-style loans scheme, a student can apply to defer their loan repayments for a year at a time if their income is not more than 85 per cent. of national average earnings. This deferment threshold is recalculated annually in line with figures published by National Statistics, and is currently 21,364 for the year starting 1 September 2003. Any change to the 85 per cent. threshold would require primary legislation and we have no plans to make such a change.
	The threshold for repaying income contingent loans is an annual income of 10,000. Borrowers over this threshold are liable to repay 9 per cent. of their income over 10,000. The repayment scheme came into effect in April 2000. The level of the threshold will rise to 15,000 from April 2005.
	The information requested is provided in the table for both mortgage style and income contingent loans:
	
		
		
			 Academic years 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 
		
		
			 Mortgage style loans deferment threshold 13,980 14,592 15,204 15,792 16,488 17,784 18,192 19,104 19,728 21,022 
			 Income contingent loans repayment threshold n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 10,000 10,000 10,000

Teachers' Income Tax

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of teachers who pay income tax at the higher rate.

David Miliband: The amount of income needed for a teacher to become a higher rate tax payer will depend on their own and their family's circumstances. As we do not collect information on teachers' financial and family circumstances we are unable to make a reliable assessment of the number or percentage of teachers paying income tax at the higher rate.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Bond Security Scheme

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research his Department has carried out to assess the feasibility of launching a bond security scheme for tenants in rented property; and what studies he has received of bond security schemes for tenants in rented property in Australia.

Keith Hill: Cost-benefit assessments of intervention measures were carried out for the consultation on protection of tenancy monies, based on research by the University of York and data from the pilot Tenancy Deposit Scheme. In 1998, a review of deposit schemes operating in Canada, New Zealand and Australian states was carried out.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 4 June and 22 August.

Yvette Cooper: I replied to the hon. Member on 27 October 2003.

Council Housing

Anthony Steen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will take steps to enable elected members of district councils to view the names of those on the councils' housing waiting lists; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: There are no plans to enable elected members of district councils to view the names of those on the councils' housing waiting lists. There is no legislative provision for such access, and it is difficult to see how it is compatible with the provisions of the Data Protection Act.

Council Housing

Ken Purchase: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate the impact of an additional 50 million per annum investment on housing rents of a local authority owning 25,000 properties, managed by (a) the local authority and (b) an arm's length management organisation.

Keith Hill: There should be no impact on rents on properties managed by either a local authority or an arm's length management organisation provided that the managing organisation is implementing the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's proposals on rent restructuring.

Council Housing Stock

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether Government grants to local councils are affected by whether they have retained control of council housing stock.

Keith Hill: Housing Revenue Account (HRA) subsidy is payable to all housing authorities who retain control of their housing stock, including those who have set up an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) or entered into a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract. HRA subsidy entitlement is calculated on the basis of assumed need. An authority that has no housing stock, and has closed its HRA, will not therefore be entitled to HRA subsidy.
	Funding provided to support housing investment by local authorities is based on indices which reflect a range of housing needs including the renovation backlog in the council housing stock. Again, these indices will be adjusted when stock is transferred to a registered social landlord.

Council Tax

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Band D council tax is for each constituency in England.

Nick Raynsford: Figures for the average Band D council tax for each parliamentary constituency in England are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is because the boundaries of most constituencies do not coincide with those of local authorities, and figures are not collected in such a way as to allow reliable estimates for constituency areas to be produced.
	It is possible, however, to provide figures for the average Band D area council tax for 200304 for each of the billing authority areas lying partly or wholly within each English parliamentary constituency. A table giving this information is available in the Library of the House.

Councillors (Tenure)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2003, Official Report, column 403W, on councillors (tenure), when he expects to bring forward legislation to extend the tenure of those councillors affected.

Nick Raynsford: The Government will shortly be launching a consultation paper on drafts of the relevant Statutory Instruments. It hopes to be able to lay a final draft before the House by the end of this year, and subject to parliamentary approval, make the order by the end of January 2004.

Family Houses

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many family houses for rent he estimates will be built in the Colchester constituency in the next two years from the funds he has provided for the east of England;
	(2)  how many family houses for rent he estimates will be built in the east of England over the next two years from funds he has allocated.

Keith Hill: It will be for Regional Housing Board to prioritise the use of resources the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has provided to the east of England amounting to 330 million over two years (200405 to 200506). Where funding is being provided by the Housing Corporation, registered social landlords (RSLs) will be expected to bid for funds in line with both regional and local priorities, the latter being set by the local authorities.
	At this stage we expect that funding over this period will provide around 5,500 completions of homes in the east of England. These homes will be for rent or for low cost home ownership.
	The Housing Corporation launched their bidding round on 24 October under which they will be allocating the resources for 200405 and 200506 to RSLs
	Figures at constituency level are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Family Houses

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many families in the east of England he estimates are living in accommodation of a size below recommended standards.

Keith Hill: There are no recommended standards for occupancy but the bedroom standard has been used as a statistical measure of under-occupancy/overcrowding since the 1970's. Using data from the Survey of English Housing, averaged over the years 200001, 200102 and 200203 in order to provide a sufficiently large sample, the estimated number of households in overcrowded accommodation (i.e. one or more bedrooms below the standard) in the east of England was 35,000 households or 1.6 per cent. of all households in the region. For the whole of England there were estimated to be 501,000 households i.e. 2.4 per cent.

Green Belt

Tony McWalter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will take steps (a) to conserve the green belt in Hertfordshire and (b) to ensure that towns to the north of the M25 retain their distinctive character and are not joined together by ribbon development.

Keith Hill: Hertfordshire is an area with strong housing pressures and very high house prices. Much of the county is covered by green belt. Through the Communities Plan the Government are committed to addressing the housing shortage in the greater south east by ensuring house building rates in existing plans are met and, where appropriatewith a strong emphasis on the growth areassuch rates are increased.
	Government policy is that the essential characteristic of green belts is their permanence, that established boundaries should only be reviewed in exceptional circumstances, and that at the regional level the extent of green belt should at least be retained.
	Notwithstanding the presumption that capacity within urban areas should be used first and the exemplary approach of Hertfordshire county council towards developing urban capacity, we accept that in the Hertfordshire context some limited local releases of green belt are likely to be required. The location of these will be defined through the regional planning and local planning processes. This will not lead to changing the distinctive character of individual towns and will ensure they are not joined by ribbon development.

Local Elections

John Pugh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of councils, excluding parish and town councils, are under Labour majority control in England, broken down by region.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Local Government Formula

Patsy Calton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the real terms percentage change in (a) local government formula and (b) one-off grant funding was, broken down by (i) spending area and (ii) council, in each year since 199798.

Nick Raynsford: Figures for English local authorities are available in the Library of the House.

London Bridge Tower

Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will make a final decision on the planning application for the London Bridge Tower.

Keith Hill: The Inspector's report is currently under consideration and a decision will be issued as soon as possible.

Millennium Dome

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what public money has been used to support the Millennium Dome since its closure.

Keith Hill: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) was responsible for maintaining the Dome, and decommissioning its contents, from its closure on 31 December 2000 to end of June 2001. During this period, NMEC incurred expenditure of 8.2 million funded by the Lottery, although partially offset by net income of 3.9 million from the sale of assets following closure.
	English Partnerships (EP) took over responsibility in July 2001, since when it has incurred expenditure of 6.3 million on maintaining the Dome, up to the end of August 2003. EP has also incurred expenditure of 6.7 million on decommissioning the Dome's contents and site preparation for its long-term use, and 7.4 million in connection with the current sale process, from February 2001 to the end of August 2003. 6.7 million was spent by EP on the earlier competition to find a long-term use for the Dome, which began in March 1999 and ended in February 2001. EP has received income, net of VAT, of 0.9 million for events held at the Dome since it became available for such use at the end of 2001, thereby reducing the amount of public money used to support the Dome. The remaining EP expenditure, and their future costs, will be recovered from eventual sale proceeds.

Mobile Phone Masts

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will grant local authorities more powers to refuse applications by mobile telephone companies to erect telephone masts; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: On 22 August 2001, the Government significantly strengthened the planning arrangements for telecommunications development. There are no plans to change these arrangements at present.

Park Homes

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will introduce a separate band of council tax for people who live in park homes; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is aware of the concerns about the current width of band A from people who live in lower value dwellings like park homes. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has announced that it will have a council tax revaluation in England in 2007 based on 1 April 2005 values and ahead of that will listen to the views of local government and taxpayers about council tax bands. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will decide on any changes to the banding structure nearer to the time of the revaluation.

Park Homes

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to introduce legislation to regulate park home sites, with particular reference to the purchasing and selling of homes; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: The Select Committee's report on the draft Housing Bill recommended that the Government should commit to introducing new legislation on park homes within the next two years. I cannot pre-empt the Government's response to the Select Committee's report, which will be published next month, nor the contents of the Queen's Speech.

Planning

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to amend the Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development Order 1995 to include an additional condition to prevent development on grounds of intrusion; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: As part of the planning reform agenda, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is undertaking a review of the permitted development rights granted by the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development Rights) Order 1995. A research report commissioned from Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners Ltd. (available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister website) makes a number of recommendations to address concerns about privacy and overlooking. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be seeking views on these recommendations as part of a wider consultation on possible changes to the Order.

Planning Legislation (Northern Ireland)

Lembit �pik: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the role of the planning system in delivering sustainable development in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland 2025, which was formulated by the Northern Ireland Assembly on 20 September 2001, sets new directions to achieve a more sustainable pattern of development in the interests of future generations. The Department of Environment in Northern Ireland has a programme to provide a full suite of Planning Policy Statements by the end of 2005 and complete up-to-date Area Plan coverage by the end of 2006.
	The Planning (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 requires all Planning Policy Statements and Area Plans to be in general conformity with the Regional Development Strategy.
	In Northern Ireland, statutory provisions therefore ensure that the promotion of more sustainable forms of development is embedded in all emerging Planning Policy Statements and Area Plans.

Planning Legislation (Northern Ireland)

Lembit �pik: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to introduce a statutory Purpose for Planning requirement into Northern Ireland planning legislation based on principles of sustainable development; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill imposes a statutory duty on persons and bodies responsible for preparing Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Documents in England and Wales to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development.
	In Northern Ireland, statutory provisions already require Planning Policy Statements and Area Plans to be in general conformity with the Regional Development Strategy 2025, which was formulated by the Northern Ireland Assembly in September 2001 and sets new directions to achieve a more sustainable pattern of development.
	I can assure you, however, that consideration will be given to the need to include further provision in future planning legislation for Northern Ireland.

Regional Assemblies

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on which dates he intends to hold the referenda on the proposed regional assemblies in (a) the North West, (b) the North East and (c) Yorkshire and Humberside; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: No dates have been decided for the referendums on whether to establish elected regional assemblies in the North West, North East and Yorkshire and Humberside regions.
	My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister cannot order referendums until six weeks after he receives the Boundary Committee for England's recommendations on options for restructuring two-tier local government in the regions, planned for 25 May 2004.

Regional Assemblies

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the expected cost (a) by region and (b) in Pendle is of the postal ballot in the referendums on regional assemblies.

Nick Raynsford: Information in the Electoral Commission's report The shape of elections to come suggests that the direct cost of postal referendums on elected assemblies would be around 1.10 per elector.
	On this basis the cost by region of the elected assembly referendum would be 5.7 million in the north west, 4.1 million in Yorkshire and Humberside and 2.1 million in the north east. These figures assume that everyone eligible to vote returns a ballot paper. In practice costs will depend upon turnout, as this will affect postal and processing costs. There will be some additional costs in those parts of the region which also have a local referendum.
	It is too soon to estimate the costs in Pendle.

Regional Assemblies

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his latest estimate is of the cost of holding a referendum on regional government in (a) the north west region and (b) the three northern regions, including the costs of postal ballots.

Nick Raynsford: Information in the Electoral Commission's report The shape of elections to come suggests that the direct cost of postal referendums on elected assemblies would be around 1.10 per elector
	On this basis the cost by region of the elected assembly referendum would be 5.7 million in the north west and 11.9 million in the three northern regions.
	These figures assume that everyone eligible to vote returns a ballot paper. In practice costs will depend upon turnout, as this will affect postal and processing costs. There will be some additional costs in those parts of the region which also have a local referendum.

Regional Housing Boards

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what role the regional housing boards will play in ensuring that housing development takes place throughout the South East region.

Keith Hill: The South East Regional Housing Board will encourage local landowners, developers, registered social landlords and local authorities to work even more closely together to ensure that the region delivers the right type of housing development, in the right location, to meet the strategic needs of the region and maximise the level of public funding.

Starter Homes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many social workers, broken down by local authority area, have benefited from the Starter Home Initiative.

Keith Hill: The priority groups for assistance under the Starter Home Initiative (SHI) are teachers, police, nurses and other essential health workers. A small number of other key workers are being helped, including social workers in some areas. Funding was allocated in 2001 and 2002 based on the bids received, the recruitment and retention difficulties being experienced across different areas and the relative cost of housing. As at 30 September 2003, 45 social workers have been helped to purchase homes under the SHI.
	The following table sets out the breakdown by local authority.
	
		
			 Local Authority Number of social workers assisted 
		
		
			 Barnet 1 
			 Basingstoke and Deane 5 
			 Bexley 1 
			 Brighton and Hove 4 
			 Bristol 3 
			 Broxbourne 1 
			 Cambridge 5 
			 Chichester 2 
			 Ealing 3 
			 Eastbourne 1 
			 Guildford 1 
			 Hackney 1 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2 
			 Harrow 1 
			 Hastings 2 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1 
			 Lewes 1 
			 Oxford 1 
			 Reading 2 
			 Reigate and Banstead 1 
			 St. Albans 1 
			 Southampton 1 
			 Watford 1 
			 Woking 1 
			 Wokingham 2 
			 Total 45

Starter Homes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many public service workers have been assisted by the Starter Home Initiative, broken down by profession.

Keith Hill: As at 30 September 2003, over 4,500 key workers have been helped to purchase homes under the Starter Home Initiative. The following table sets out the breakdown by key worker group.
	
		
			  Number of key workers helped to purchase homes 
		
		
			 Health workers 1,961 
			 Teachers 1,896 
			 Police 571 
			 Other(8) 99 
			 Total 4,527 
		
	
	(8) Other key workers being helped under the Starter Home Initiative are social workers, care workers, fire fighters, transport workers, occupational therapists and (from July 2003) prison and probation service staff.

TREASURY

Bond Payment Schemes

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 1097W, on bond payment schemes, if he will make such an assessment.

John Healey: There are no plans to make such an assessment on bond payment schemes.

Efficiency Review

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will publish the findings of the Efficiency Review consultation; and what recent discussions he has had with Mr. Peter Gershon, Head of the Office Government Commerce, regarding the progress of the Efficiency Review.

Paul Boateng: The Review of Efficiency in Public Services is being independently led by Peter Gershon and it is for him to decide when to publish the results of the consultation.
	Discussions with Peter Gershon and his team are held on an ongoing basis as required.

Football Clubs

Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which premier league and football league clubs have reached agreement with Customs and Excise over the last five years to pay off debts of less than their full value; and what the nature was of the agreement in each case.

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise are statutorily debarred from disclosing information relating to the tax affairs of individuals and of public and private sector bodies. Exemption 15 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

Homebuy Scheme (Teachers)

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances equity loans under the Key Teacher Homebuy Scheme will be treated as a taxable benefit.

Dawn Primarolo: A loan to a teacher, as to any employee, will be a taxable benefit if it is on beneficial terms and made, or arranged, guaranteed or facilitated in any way, by the employer.

Ports of Entry (Controls)

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce container and goods vehicles scanning to detect illegal entry of (a) persons and (b) goods at ports of entry.

John Healey: Mobile freight scanners were introduced by HM Customs and Excise in a phased roll-out between November 2000 and April 2003 for the detection of smuggled goods. There are currently 13 Customs scanners deployed at ports around the country.
	The UK Immigration Service (UKIS) currently operates a Gamma Scanner at the port of Dover for the detection of clandestine entrants. The scanner is deployed jointly with Customs and is capable of finding clandestine entrants and goods.
	A second gamma scanner, owned by UKIS, was loaned to the Belgian Federal Maritime Police in August 2003. It is operated jointly by the Belgian Federal Police and the UK Immigration Service at Zeebrugge and Ostende, and on the approach routes to both ports.

Royal Forest of Dean College

Diana Organ: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Speedwell building at the Royal Forest of Dean College is classified as a charity annex in respect of VAT; and whether its usage qualifies it for zero-rating for VAT.

John Healey: Annexes to buildings constructed by charities for non-business use can be zero-rated in certain circumstances.
	I understand that Customs and Excise are currently discussing the VAT treatment of the Speedwell building with the Royal Forest of Dean College.

Second World War Debt

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much debt has yet to be repaid to the US by the UK Government in settlement of military equipment provision during World War II.

Ruth Kelly: The Supplementary Statements to the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund Accounts for 200102, presented to Parliament on 19 December 2002, provides the latest published data on these loans. As at 31 March 2002 principal of $289,985,203 (203,641,294 at the exchange rate on that day) was outstanding on the loans provided by the United Sates Government in 1945. A further repayment of principal, amounting to US$66,381,002.61, was made at the end of December 2002, which reduced this figure. The new figure for the principal amount outstanding as at 31 March 2003 will be published in the 200203 Accounts in December 2003.

Taxes

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the proportion of (a) income tax and (b) taxes paid by each income decile in 200203; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Laws, dated 28 October 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for an estimate of the proportion of (a) income tax and (b) taxes paid by each income decile in 200203. (134277)
	Estimates for 200203 are not yet available but the attached table is based on the analysis The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 200102 produced by the ONS and published on the National Statistics website on October 21st 2003. The analysis can be obtained from the House of Commons library or from the National Statistics website at http://www. statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits. It includes measures of income inequality for the United Kingdom as a whole based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey.
	The table shows estimates of the proportion of total tax paid by households in each income decile group where households are ranked by equivalised disposable income. Tax is defined as direct and indirect taxes. Equivalisation is a standard methodology that takes into account the size and composition of households and adjusts their incomes to recognise differing demands on resources.
	The table also shows the equivalised disposable income decile points, which have been calculated separately for each year. For example, the 1st decile point is the income below which one tenth of all households are estimated to lie.
	
		Proportion of taxes paid by decile groups of ALL households, 200102
		
			  Decile groups of all households ranked by equivalised disposable income 
			  Bottom 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th Top 
		
		
			 Decile points (equivalised )  8,214 10,356 12,361 14,670 17,179 19,910 23,691 28,469 37,095 
			
			  Proportions of taxes (Percentage)   
			 Income tax 1 1 2 3 5 7 10 13 18 40 
			 All taxes (direct and indirect) 4 4 4 6 7 9 11 13 16 26 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics, based on the analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 200102'.

VAT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to raise rates of value added tax.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General gave on 15 September 2003, Official Report, column 595W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton, South (Mr. Tynan)

WORK AND PENSIONS

Hospital-acquired Infections

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many investigations by the Health and Safety Executive there have been into infections in NHS hospitals in each of the past five years.

Des Browne: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has investigated the following numbers of reportable infections to staff in NHS hospitals over the last five years:
	1998998
	1999200010
	20000110
	2001023
	2002037.
	With very few exceptions, infections to patients do not have to be reported to HSE. HSE has investigated some such cases, for example as a result of complaints or outbreaks affecting both staff and patients. The number of these investigations is not readily obtainable, but is likely to be fewer than the above figures.

National Insurance

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to the Exchequer is of the granting of automatic national insurance contribution credits to those aged between 60 and 65 years.

Chris Pond: These credits were introduced in 1983 to remove the need for many men in the 60 to 65 age-group, whose occupational retirement age was 60, to register as unemployed solely in order to obtain unemployment credits. These automatic credits effectively replaced unemployment credits for the majority of these men. We are unable to estimate the cost because not all people who are awarded these credits need them for benefit purposes.

Bechtel

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list contracts for consultancy or work carried out by Bechtel in each year since 1997 stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001 and has had no contracts with Bechtel.

Benefit Payments

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of (a) child benefit recipients and (b) pensioners have chosen to receive their payments into (i) a normal bank or building society account, (ii) a basic bank account and (iii) a Post Office card account;
	(2)  how many (a) pensioners and (b) child benefit recipients have been contacted regarding the new direct payment arrangements; how many are yet to be contacted; and what deadline the Government have set for contacting these recipients.

Chris Pond: Key figures on the progress of conversion to Direct Payment are available in the House of Commons Library, updated every four weeks. It should be noted that for statistical purposes, we cannot differentiate between a current bank account and a basic bank account.
	The huge number of customers involved in the conversion process, some 13 million, means that the changes are being phased in over a two-year period.

Carers

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to grant (a) the carers' allowance and (b) other financial assistance to carers over 65 years irrespective of other benefit entitlements.

Maria Eagle: The upper age limit for carer's allowance was abolished with effect from 28 October 2002. The allowance for those over 65 years is subject to the same rules as those which apply when a person below the state pension age is entitled to more than one Social Security benefit.
	Only one benefit at a time can be paid in full for income maintenance. Both state pension and carer's allowance provide a measure of income replacement for individuals who have reached pension age. In these circumstances one benefit has to be adjusted by reference to the other.
	As to other financial assistance, even if carer's allowance is not payable under these rules, a carer entitled to state pension credit will receive the carer premium worth 25.10 a week. There are no plans to change these arrangements.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 20 August 2003.

Maria Eagle: I regret we have no record of the hon. Member's letter. If he would like to send a further copy, I will arrange for it to be considered urgently.

Disability Living Allowance

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the arrangements are for piloting new disability living allowance claim forms.

Maria Eagle: On 22 September 2003, we began testing a new, shorter and simpler, postal Disability Living Allowance claim form at Wembley Disability Benefit Centre. We plan to run the test until the end of the calendar year and the findings will be evaluated in the New Year. Before starting the test at Wembley, we communicated widely with local groups representing customers with disabilities, to encourage them to cooperate in the use of the test form and to provide feedback, which will form a valuable part of the evaluation process. No decisions will be taken on further use of the new form until after the test results have been evaluated.

Job Grant

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who will be able to apply for the job grant; how much it is worth; for how long the grant will be available; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The Job Grant is intended to help people manage until they receive their wages when moving from benefits into work and was introduced in April 2001. It is a flat rate one-off payment of 100 payable to people aged 25 and over who have been in receipt of Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance continuously for the last 52 weeks and who are moving into work of at least 16 hours a week.
	From 25 October 2004, the Job Grant will be available to people receiving Job Seekers Allowance aged 25 and over, lone parents, and people of any age receiving Income Support, Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance. The amount payable to lone parents and couples with children will be increased to 250. In addition, the qualifying period of benefit receipt will be reduced from the current 52 weeks to 26 weeks. Access has also been extended to partners of eligible benefit recipients who take up work of 24 hours a week or more, which takes the household off benefit. Full details of Job Grant eligibility conditions have been placed in the Library.
	There are no plans to discontinue the Job Grant and we regularly review our package of work incentives, of which Job Grant is an integral part, to ensure that it works effectively to help people moving from benefits into employment.

Jobcentre Plus

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many full-time workers were employed by Jobcentre Plus in Essex on 1 September.

Des Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Mark Francois, dated 28 October 2003
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the number of Jobcentre Plus staff employed in Essex. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
	In answer to your question, a total of 1,080 full time and 433 part time staff were employed by Jobcentre Plus in Essex on 1 September 2003. This equates to 1,371 full time staff.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will change jobseeker's allowance from a means-tested benefit to one based solely on contributions.

Chris Pond: Both contribution-based and income-based jobseeker's allowance provide support to people while they are looking for work. We have no plans to change this.

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff (a) from his Department and (b) not from his Department work in each local pension advice surgery.

Malcolm Wicks: Information surgeries have been set up in partnership with various organisations to provide a service in locations where customers are most comfortable conducting their business with our staff. We do not have this information in the format requested as the staffing varies from area to area, but the usual arrangement is that one member of local service staff from The Pension Service and one person from the partnering organisation run each surgery session. The latest data available shows that there are currently 2,650 weekly surgeries in place with an average session time of 1.5 hours per week. Currently, there are 2,795 (whole time equivalent) field staff employed in The Pension Service local service nationally.

Pensions

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of pension credit applications to date have elected to pay into (a) post office card accounts, (b) bank accounts and (c) benefit books.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. From November, it will be possible to provide some information on the number of pension credit awards by method of payment. I will write to the hon. Member when the information requested becomes available and place a copy of my letter in the Library. Key figures on the progress of conversion to direct payment (payment into accounts) are placed in the Library and updated every four weeks.

Pensions

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) his estimate of the number of residents in the Manchester, Gorton constituency who qualify for pension credit and (b) the number in that constituency who have so far applied for that credit is.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. As at May 2003, the number of Minimum Income Guarantee recipients in Manchester Gorton was around 4,400. These are the latest figures available.
	We intend from November to publish monthly reports on the progress of Pension Credit take-on, which will include information on the number of applications.
	Notes
	1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands.
	2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	3. Government Office Region/Parliamentary Constituency is assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	4. MIG recipients are defined as Income Support benefit units where the claimant, and/or partner is aged 60 or over.
	Source
	IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample

Pensions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether, when submitting a pension credit claim form, an individual has to provide details of a capital sum expected to be received in future.

Malcolm Wicks: On applying for Pension Credit from age 65, pensioners are asked about any changes they expect to their pension income, annuities and capital over the next 12 months. If they expect to receive a lump sum payment during this period, for example, but the amount is not yet known, their award may be fixed for reassessment at the date of the expected change. If a change is expected in more than 12 months, their assessment will be fixed for the full five-year period allowed, during which time any increases in capital will be ignored.
	Pensioners aged 60 and over but under 65 will not have an assessed income period set. This means that changes in circumstances will need to be declared as and when they occur in the same way as was the case under the Minimum Income Guarantee.

Pensions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners are receiving pension credit in (a) Chorley, (b) the North West and (c) the UK.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. As at May 2003, the number of Minimum Income Guarantee recipients in Chorley was around 2700, in the North West was 248,600 and in Great Britain was 1,778,100. These are the latest figures available.
	We intend from November to publish monthly reports on the progress of Pension Credit take-on, which will include information on the number of applications.
	Notes:
	1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands.
	2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	3. Government Office Region/Parliamentary Constituency is assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	4. MIG recipients are defined as Income Support benefit units where the claimant, and/or partner is aged 60 or over.
	Source
	IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample

Pensions

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations the Government has received about the collection of a pension by a third party under the direct payment arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: holding answer 27 October 2003
	The Department regularly consults with a range of Specific Interest Groups, including Age Concern, Citizens Advice and Help the Aged to discuss issues surrounding Direct Payment.
	We are committed to ensuring that all people have reasonable access to their benefits and pensions, including the collection of benefits and pensions by a third party.

Pensions

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 18 September 2003, Official Report, column 915W, on pension investment, what public education campaigns the Department has undertaken aimed at those aged 25 to 34 about the benefits of property vis-a-vis other savings products.

Malcolm Wicks: None.

Pulling Together

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much money has been spent on the Pulling Together programme within the Department, broken down by region; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Paul Holmes, dated 28 October 2003
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the amount of money spent on the Pulling Together programme. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
	The Pulling Together programme is a highly successful initiative, unique to Jobcentre Plus within the Department. It was launched in April 2002 with the formation of Jobcentre Plus which combined two distinct businesses; the Employment Service and the working age parts of the Benefits Agency. This involved bringing together around 80,000 staff, almost 1,000 Jobcentres, over 400 social security offices and many different jobs and roles whilst simultaneously introducing an entirely new way of doing business.
	We introduced Pulling Together to support all our staff through this period of great business change, cementing the new organisation together through harnessing the ideas and energy of our staff. The response was enthusiastic and activities spanned a broad range from estates work to improve offices for both customers and staff, to putting active labour market information points in social security offices, to instigating a new recognition award and many, many more.
	The amount spent on the Pulling Together programme, broken down by region, including the amount allocated for this year is shown in the table:
	
		
			 Region/country Total 
		
		
			 North West 2,240,000 
			 North East 1,040,000 
			 Yorkshire  Humberside 1,540,000 
			 East Midlands 1,040,000 
			 East of England 1,040,000 
			 West Midlands 1,390,000 
			 South East 1,240,000 
			 South West 1,090,000 
			 London 2,290,000 
			 Wales 1,140,000 
			 Scotland 1,890,000 
			 PullingTogether central team 860,000 
			 Total 16,800,000 
		
	
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus Financial Management and Control Division
	The largest portion of this spend was incurred last year in the setting up of new processes and different ways of working that had to happen in order for us to deliver our new business in the most customer focused and joined-up way possible.
	I hope this is helpful.

HEALTH

Audiology

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action the Government is taking to ensure that deaf people are not discriminated against in accessing mainstream primary and secondary health care.

Stephen Ladyman: Action the Government are taking to help eliminate discrimination in all its forms from health services, which includes discrimination against deaf people, includes:
	The NHS Plan, which commits the Department to ensuring that public services are equitable and accessible for disabled people.
	The Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions are co-operating on the draft Disability Bill, which will mean a significant extension of rights for disabled people in the United Kingdom.
	The Department is working on a partnership framework for action on disability with the Disability Rights Commission. This will help ensure that the national health service and social care are ready to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act physical access duties from 2004.

Audiology

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what incentives he is giving to health trusts to ensure that deaf people are able to (a) express their consent to treatment and (b) make meaningful treatment choices.

Stephen Ladyman: Health trusts are expected to make suitable provision to ensure that all patients who cannot easily access spoken English, including those who are deaf, are enabled to make informed consent to treatment and to make meaningful choices.
	It is not considered that trusts need incentives to do this but, to encourage services to become more equitable and responsive, the Department is currently undertaking a national consultation, called 'Choice, Responsiveness and Equity', which will improve patient and user experience and build new partnerships between those who use health and social care and those who work in them.

Children's Trusts

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those authorities taking part in pilot schemes for children's trusts; when the pilots (a) start and (b) finish; and what the procedure for (i) reporting on the pilots and (ii) influencing future legislation is.

Stephen Ladyman: The following authorities are children's trust pathfinders: Barnsley, Bexley, Blackburn with Darwen, Bolton, Brighton and Hove, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire, City of York, Croydon, Darlington, Devon, Ealing, East Yorkshire, Essex, Gateshead, Greenwich, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Leicester, Newcastle, North Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Portsmouth, Redbridge, Sandwell, Sheffield, Solihull, South Tyneside, Sutton, Telford and Wrekin, Tower Hamlets, Trafford, West Sussex and Wokingham.
	The children's trust pathfinders were announced on 10 July 2003 and will run for three years as pathfinders. They will be independently evaluated over the three years and reports will be made during that period. Information from the pathfinders, including evaluation reports and the work of the national network will identify issues for any future legislation.

General Practitioners

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of GP practices in the United Kingdom that have registered children as temporary rather than permanent patients to avoid losing funding if they have a certain percentage of children registered who are not immunised.

John Hutton: Everyone, including children, has the right to be registered with a general practitioner for free national health service treatment. We have no estimate of the numbers of GPs who de-register children from their patient lists in order to exclude them from the calculation of target payments for childhood immunisations. The General Medical Council and the profession itself opposes such actions and the Government expects primary care trusts to investigate any such cases.

Housing Benefit

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 20 October 2003, Official Report, column 463W, on housing benefit, whether (a) his Department has responsibility for the implementation of the Care Standards Act 2000, (b) his Department has responsibility for the National Care Standards Commission that inspects and registers accommodation under the Care Standards Act 2000, (c) the form of registration applied under the Act has a direct bearing on whether residents are eligible for housing benefit and (d) his Department will liaise with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that people with learning disabilities capable of holding individual tenancies do not lose their entitlement to housing benefit as a result of the registration process.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department has responsibility for the implementation of the Care Standards Act 2000.
	There was no intention through the Care Standards Act 2000 to widen the scope of regulation to new types of accommodation that had not previously been required to register as care homes under the Registered Homes Act 1984. Supported housing type establishments which did not need to register as care homes under the previous regulatory arrangements should not, therefore, need to register now.
	The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) was established under the Act as part of the Government's reforms to modernise the regulatory system for care services and independent healthcare. The NCSC is an independent, non-departmental public body, acting at arm's length from the Department. It regulates statutory and independent sector care services in accordance with the regulations and national minimum standards that flow from the Care Standards Act, to ensure consistency and improve the quality of life and level of protection of some of the most vulnerable people in society.
	The interpretation and implementation of the regulations and standards is a matter for the NCSC, as the independent regulator, based on appropriate legal advice. It is for the NCSC, as the regulator, to satisfy itself that care home providers have complied with the regulations to ensure that care home residents' health, welfare and well-being are being protected. Providers have a right of appeal to the independent Care Standards Tribunal against the decisions of the regulator.
	It is, therefore, for the NCSC to decide whether a particular establishment needs to register as a care home. Statutory guidance was issued to the NCSC in August 2002, explaining in broad terms where registration as a care home is required and how to distinguish care homes from supported housing of various kinds. Providers have a right of appeal to the Care Standards Tribunal against the decisions of the NCSC.
	The Department of Work and Pensions has overall responsibility for the scope and structure of the housing benefit scheme. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Pond), gave to him on 21 October 2003, Official Report, column 512W. We are aware that, in some cases, problems have arisen at a local level. The Department is liaising with the Department of Work and Pensions about these cases.

Nursing Homes

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the powers used by the Government on which it bases the system for the payment of the nursing element of a patient's nursing home fees.

Stephen Ladyman: The National Health Service has a general duty under section 3 of the National Health Service Act 1977 to provide nursing services to such extent as it considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements. This duty has been delegated by the Secretary of State to primary care trusts (PCTs) pursuant to section 16B of the 1977 Act and section 17 of the same Act gives the Secretary of State the power to direct a PCT about the exercise of those functions. The National Health Service (Nursing Care in Residential Accommodation) (England) Directions 2001 directed the NHS to provide nursing care for all care home residents, where nursing care had the same meaning as in section 49(2) of the Health and Social Care Act 2001. PCTs are required to follow these Directions and guidance has been issued to PCTs about the practical operation of the system

Nursing Homes

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue guidance on the funding of nursing care in residential and nursing homes following the Coughlan case.

Stephen Ladyman: Guidance on the provision of National Health Service-funded nursing care in nursing homes, Guidance on NHS funded nursing care, was published on 12 March 2003. Guidance on the issues raised by the Coughlan judgement, Continuing care: NHS and Local Councils' responsibilities, was issued on 28 June 2001. There are no current plans to issue new guidance.

Radiotherapy

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received about average waiting times for radiotherapy treatment;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received about shortages of (a) radiographers and (b) radiologists; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The Department has received representations from the Royal College of Radiologists, the Society of Radiographers and others about waiting times and staff shortages in radiotherapy. We are working with the Society of Radiographers and the Royal College of Radiologists to look at all ways of increasing the radiotherapy work force. We have increased the number of therapy radiographers by 10 per cent. since 1997 and to ensure future growth, we have more than doubled, by 111 per cent., the number of training places at universities. We are also extending the careers of radiotherapy staff through new ways of working, which will allow staff to develop and extend their roles in the profession. We have also increased the number of clinical oncologists by 28 per cent., with numbers set to rise further.
	We are also making improvements in radiotherapy services by investment in replacement and additional radiotherapy equipment and streamlining and re-designing care processes through the cancer services collaborative.

Speech and Language Therapy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS speech and language therapy staff have been employed in each of the last seven years.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table. Between September 1997 and 2002, the number of qualified speech and language therapists employed in the national health service has increased by 1,089, or 22 per cent.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified speech and language therapy staff in England as at 30 September each specified year
		
			  Headcount Whole-time equivalents 
		
		
			 1996 4,705 3,585 
			 1997 4,871 3,742 
			 1998 5,031 3,831 
			 1999 5,185 3,939 
			 2000 5,430 4,066 
			 2001 5,685 4,207 
			 2002 5,960 4,365 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-medical Workforce Census.

Speech and Language Therapy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the vacancy rates for speech and language staff, broken down by primary care trust area.

John Hutton: Information on the rate of vacancies lasting three months or more for speech and language therapists for each primary care trust organisation has been placed in the Library. As at March 2003, the three-month vacancy rate in England was 3.2 per cent., a fall from 5.2 per cent. in the previous year.

Speech and Language Therapy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hours per child subject is spent on average a year by speech and language therapists.

Stephen Ladyman: Information is not collected centrally which would enable an estimate to be made. Time spent will vary widely between different children, depending on their clinical needs.

Speech and Language Therapy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in England are receiving therapy from NHS speech and language professionals in England, broken down by primary care trust area.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the numbers of children receiving therapy is not collected centrally. Information on initial contacts, to new episodes of care, is available for the age group 015 years, but is broken down by provider, not by primary care trust area.

Speech and Language Therapy

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech and language therapy sessions there were on average per week for each NHS patient receiving such treatment in each of the past five years.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally.